Stars Aligned
by TiedUpinGrey
Summary: Christian's neighbors' daughter, Ana, visits for the summer and they instantly hit off. They have a short fling filled with love and laughs but come fall Ana has to return to the U.K. After a few months they lose all contact, until fifteen years later, when Christian is thrown back into the past and finds a younger Ana—only its not Ana. It's his daughter. AU. I don't own 50 shades.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Summer 1998**

Christian threw his book bag in the passenger seat, feeling giddy that it was the last day of his sophomore year of high school. He waited for his little sister, Mia, to rush out of the door so he could drop her off at school. While he was waiting in the driveway, his back leaning against the driver door, he saw a silver Volvo pull up in the driveway of the house across the street from him.

Mr. Steele, his neighbor ever since he could remember, opened the door and stood in the doorway. He bent down when the passenger door of the Volvo opened and a petite girl jumped out and ran into his arms. Mr. Steele picked her up and wrapped her in his arms as he carried her inside. A woman with light brown hair wearing a blue dress that hung from her shoulders went to the trunk and pulled out a small purple suitcase and a purple book bag. The woman followed Mr. Steele and the young girl inside, closing the door behind her.

Christian frowned after watching the interaction between his neighbor and the mysterious females that were there to visit him, or to stay, Christian wasn't sure. But he could only wonder who the women were and how they knew Mr. Steele. Christian always knew his neighbor to be a quiet man and he didn't know of a wife and kids, he'd never seen anyone but him come out of his house. Maybe his assumption was wrong, though, or maybe he'd just met the woman and whoever the young girl was.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Mia cheered as she bounced towards Christian, her Barbie book bag on her back and her Barbie lunch box swinging in her hand.

"It's about time, I was waiting for a million years," he exaggerated and guided Mia towards the back seat.

Mia giggled as she buckled herself in her car seat. "Not uh. You're only 16. Not a million," Mia corrected him.

Christian chuckled as he pulled out of the driveway after waving goodbye to his mother. "Okay, you got me. But you did take a very long time, like always."

"Well Mrs. Bates said that since it's the last day of school we could bring a special toy. I had to bring Barbie, but she had to change clothes and look super pretty so when Penelope saw her she would get super jealous. Because my Barbie is better than Penelope's, but she doesn't think so, so I had to make sure my Barbie was super pretty today!" Mia said.

Christian kept his eyes forward as he let his little sister go on and on about how her Barbie had to look better than her best friends. Mia was only eight and although she and Christian didn't have a lot in common due the differences in their age, Christian adored her and Mia practically bowed at his feet. And she really hero worshipped him, running to him whenever something didn't go her way and asked him to fix it.

Christian had an older brother too, Elliot. He was two years older than Christian and was home for the summer after finishing his freshman year at Columbia. Christian loved his brother like any sibling would, but they didn't really share a brotherly bond that most do. Elliot was the type that was dedicated to his studies and focused on making something of himself, while Christian was the type to live in the moment and worry about the future when it comes. Christian wished that he and his brother could share a real bond and he was hoping with him here for the summer they could develop one.

"Okay, Mia Mouse, we're here," Christian told his sister as he got out of the car and walked her to the school doors. "Remember Dad will be here to pick you up, alright?"

"Alright. But when you get home after work can I tell you about my day?"

Christian smiled down at her. "Of course. Now go and this time make sure you don't throw away your lunch box."

Mia pursed her small mouth. "I told you that was an accident!"

"Doesn't matter," he said with a shake of his head, "just go."

He watched as his little sister got lost in the crowd as she disappeared into the school and then he turned around and got back into his car. When he got to his school parking lot, he looked up at the brick building he wouldn't enter for three months and then grinned, pulling his bag over his shoulder and strutting into the school.

As he walked through the hallways he went to his locker and stiffened when he saw Stacey McGuire approach him out of his periphery.

"Hey, Chris, you coming to Nate's beginning of summer party tomorrow? It's all the school is talking about," Stacey told him as she leaned against the locker next to his and leered at him.

Christian groaned on the inside and wished he had the heart to just tell her straight out he would never be interested. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, far from it actually with her vivid green eyes and long strawberry red hair, she just didn't pique Christian's interest the way he piqued hers. He thought she was a nice girl and would settle for being her friend, but he knew she wouldn't accept no, which was obvious since he was constantly dropping subtle hints of his disinterest that she boldly chose to ignore.

"Uh, I'm not sure yet. I think my parents said something about going out of town for the weekend or something like that," Christian nonchalantly lied.

"Oh, well, if you do end up going I think we should go together," she suggested, moving closer to her.

"We'll see," he muttered noncommittedly.

She giggled and Christian could tell it was forced. "Anyways, you know where to find me. See you around, Chris."

Christian gave her a thin smile as she walked away and let out a breath of relief when she was halfway down the hall. Just then his best friend Jordan came to stand by him as they both watched Stacey walk down the hallway.

"She ask you out again?" Jordan asked.

"I don't understand why she just won't give up," Christian muttered.

Jordan laughed and put a hand on Christian's shoulder. "Maybe because you haven't given her a reason to. Just tell her how you feel, dude, and maybe she'd back off."

"I have, but she won't listen." Christian shut his locker and started down the hallway with his friend. "But at least I won't have to deal with her for the summer." He shot Jordan a look and they both grinned and started yelling 'last day of school' as they ran through the hallways, making everyone laugh and join in.

When Christian got home later that night after work, he was ready to fall on his bed and sleep until the next afternoon. He was just about to head up to his room when his mother called out to him.

"Christian, is that you?"

"Yes."

His mom popped her head from around the corner. "Before you go upstairs I'd like for you to meet someone." She smiled at him and Christian could only wonder who it was.

Following his mother into the dining room, he saw his father and Mr. Steele sitting at the dining table and the young girl he saw that morning sitting next to Mr. Steele.

His father stood up when he and his mother entered the room. "Christian, you remember Mr. Steele?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, hello, Mr. Steele."

"Good evening, Christian. It's been a while since we've spoken."

"It has," Christian said as his eyes shifted to the girl sitting next to him.

Mr. Steele followed his gaze. "Forgive me, Christian, this is my daughter, Anastasia. She'll be staying with me for the summer and I thought it'd be nice if I introduce her to the neighbors, maybe make some new friends."

"Hello, Anastasia," Christian said.

Christian stared at the girl as her eyes met his and he was dumbstruck by how blue they were. They were the color of the Mediterranean on a hot summer day, the sun rays making the water sparkle.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Christian. And you can call me Ana, everyone does." Her voice was husky but had an angelic ring to it. Christian thought she was probably a singer with a voice that could make people cry.

"Okay, Ana. Um, so where will you go when summer is over?" he asked as an excuse to hear her voice again.

"Back to England with my mother."

Christian's brows rose. "You're from England?" He hadn't heard an accent.

She nodded, a smile on her lips. "I was born there, but when I was one she moved back here. We just moved back there two years ago when she got a different job," Ana explained.

"Oh." Christian's eyes shifted to Mr. Steele, wondering why his daughter was just now visiting him.

Mr. Steele caught his eye. "Her mother and I didn't always see eye to eye."

His explanation didn't really explain anything, but Christian just went with it, not wanting to stick his nose where it didn't belong.

"We were just about to serve dinner, would you two like to join us? Ana, dear, I'm sure you and Christian could chat some more. He'd be happy to tell you about some fun places to go while you're here, right, Christian?" Grace said.

Christian gave his mother a look, but turned back to Ana. "Yeah, sure."

Ana smiled at Christian and he couldn't deny how pretty she was. Deciding it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know her better—after all you can never have too many friends—he sat next to her as his mother helped the chef bring out the food.

Ana and Christian chatted over dinner, practically ignoring their parents, and realized they both had a lot in common. They liked the same kind of music, thought the same movies were funny and even had the same favorite color. Christian found out she was only a year younger than him, and would be turning 16 in September. He was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be in Bellevue to celebrate it.

As the night progressed both of their families moved to the sitting room and bonded over glasses of champagne and tea. Christian and Ana sat on the love seat together as they talked about Ana's childhood in London and what it was like for Christian growing up with his siblings.

Christian couldn't get over how easy it was to talk to Ana; it was almost like they had known each other all their lives and they were just catching up. He watched her as she talked, how her nose wrinkled when she laughed and noticed the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about her mom. When he asked questions about her dad she closed off a little bit, and even though he wanted to know what happened with her father and their relationship, he didn't want to bring up anything that would make her uncomfortable.

When the clock struck eleven, Mr. Steele, whom Christian finally learned first name is Raymond, declared it was time to go home. Before they all said their good byes Christian asked Ana if she wanted to hang out the next day, and to his delight she agreed.

When he was getting ready for bed a half hour later, he was walking out of the bathroom after his shower when Mia stopped him in the hallway.

Looking up at him with hurt eyes she cried, "You said when you got home I could tell you about my day, but you spent all night downstairs with the grown-ups."

Bending down he put his hands on his sister's shoulders and looked in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mia Mouse, I just got caught up with a new friend I made today. You remember how fun it was when you became friends with Penny and you wanted to hang out with her all day?"

Mia sniffled as she nodded her head, her greenish hazel eyes filled with tears.

"Well that's how I feel about my new friend. But I promise tomorrow before I leave we can sit on my bed and you can tell me all about your day, and if you want I'll even play Barbie teacup party with you."

Mia's eyes lit up, her tears immediately vanished and she jumped up and down in place as she clapped her hands in glee. "Yay! Me and Barbie love it when you play teacup party with us!" Mia beamed at him.

"It's a deal then, but you have to go to sleep in order for tomorrow to come," Christian told her as he stood to his full height.

"Okay. I love you, Chrissy." Mia wrapped her arms around his hips, which was pretty awkward since Christian was still in his towel.

"I love you, too, Mia Mouse," Christian said as he pried her arms off him to gain some space. "Shouldn't you be getting in bed now?"

Mia smiled up at him before she turned around and skipped to her room.

When Christian was lying in bed, he thought about Anastasia—or Ana as she liked to be called. He was anxious to see her again. He had developed a crush on her, which he thought was ridiculous since he had only known her for less than 24 hours. He had a connection with her that he'd never had with anyone else, and he was excited and terrified at the same time to see what would become of their relationship. He knew she liked him too otherwise she wouldn't have sat all night talking to him or agreed to hang out with him the following day, so he had hope that whatever the summer would bring it would be a memorable one.

* * *

"What flavor do you want?" Christian asked Ana as they stood at the counter of a Baskin Robin's.

"Vanilla," Ana answered.

"Boo, boring. I'm getting the chocolate chip cookie dough on top of chocolate fudge."

Ana giggled. "You eat way too much chocolate, Christian."

He shrugged. "It's too good to resist. It's almost as irresistible as you."

Christian wrapped his arms around her, his chest pressed to her back, and rubbed his cheek against hers, making her giggle. He smiled, loving the sound of her giggle. They had been dating for three weeks now. The day after Ana and Ray had dinner with Christian's family they hung out all day, and after that they practically became inseparable. It was a week later Christian asked Ana to be his girlfriend, and being the respectable young man his parents raised him to be, he even asked Ray to date his daughter before he asked Ana.

Their parents didn't seem to have a problem with them dating, Christian's mother even seemed overly delighted at the fact. Elliot had met Ana a few times and they got along really well, Christian thought that they even got along better than him and Elliot did. The only one who didn't seem to enjoy Ana's new place in Christian's life was Mia. Christian noticed how she always disappeared to her room when Ana came over, and when Ana tried to engage her in an activity Mia rudely blew her off. When Christian asked Mia what was going on, she wasn't forthcoming and after days of trying to get an answer from her he gave up, hoping that she would eventually come around.

* * *

It was Christian's birthday weekend, and he was excited. Not because he was turning seventeen but because he and Ana had decided to take their relationship to the next level. At first Christian was a little hesitant, knowing he would be the one taking her virginity, but after Ana spent days reassuring him that she wanted to do it just as much as he did, he agreed. He would have liked to wait until her birthday, but since she would be back home with her mother he decided to just live in the moment and enjoy every minute he spent with her.

Throwing small pebbles at Ana's window, he waited until he saw her face appear through the glass and gestured for her to come down. When Ana came out of the dark house, he took her hand and led her to his backyard, to the boathouse.

"I wanted to make tonight special," Christian told her as he pulled her through the doorway.

He watched her expression as she looked around the room. In the middle of the room was where his father's boat was moored and it was enclosed by wooden balustrades that had evenly spaced vases of roses placed about the banister. Above them were hundreds of twinkling lights and underneath their feet were thousands of rose petals that led to the second floor, unscented candles places on coasters lighting the way.

Christian looked at Ana as she turned around and looked at him with awe-struck eyes.

"Christian . . . this is gorgeous. H-how did you even pull this off?"

Christian grinned and grabbed her hand. "I have my ways. Come on, let's go upstairs."

Pulling her up the steps, mindful of the burning candles, he took her to the second landing and opened the door, guiding her into the only bedroom in the boathouse. Christian knew Ana liked what she was looking at by the way her mouth fell open and her eyes roamed back and forth through the room.

He looked at what she was looking at. In the center of the room was a queen sized bed that was covered in red silk sheets with pink and white rose petals scattered over the fabric. In front of the bed was a huge bay window that overlooked the sound, and on the ledge were red and white candles, the flames reflected on the glass. On one side of the bed was a dresser where Christian placed three tall, narrow vases that were filled with rose petals and water and had tea light candles floating on top. In front of the vases was a card he written to Ana.

He led her over to the bed, pulled the card off the dresser and handed it to her. When she looked up at him questionably, he said, "Open it."

She gave him a skeptical look before she opened the card. She read it out loud.

"Anastasia, I know we haven't known each other long, but the connection I feel with you is so strong. I know we only have until the fall, but this has been the best summer of all. I know what we have is new, but I want to grow old with you. I know it may be too soon, but I am desperately in love with you, and I can only look to the moon and hope you feel the same way too."

Ana had stopped talking when Christian repeated the last line back to her as he gazed into her eyes. Christian stared at Ana as the silence grew between them, he was beginning to get worried as she stared at him speechlessly, then she saw her eyes welling up with tears.

Stepping forward, and nodding her head vigorously, she chanted, "I love you, too. I love you. I love you so much."

Christian pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers, tasting her tears as they streaked down her face and smeared against his. Their hands caressed and squeezed each other, feeling each other's skin under their own. Christian kissed Ana passionately, pouring all of his emotions into his actions and cherishing the feel of her body pressed against his.

After several minutes of amorous lip-locking, Christian pulled Ana towards the bed but stopped abruptly to make sure she still wanted to make love.

"Yes," she whispered against his lips, her voice low and breathy. "I want you. Make love to me."

Christian gazed into her eyes to make sure he saw no hesitance, and when he didn't he molded his lips to hers again. They lay on the bed, Christian's body over hers, as Christian's hands began to roam under her shirt. Ana's hands did the same to him and he shivered at her tentative touch. They kept their mouths connected as they removed each other's clothing. And before Christian knew it they were lying on the bed naked, their bodies exposed to one another's view.

Christian moved his mouth down to Ana's neck, placing soft, wet kisses along her silky skin as his hand moved down her body and made contact with the center of her. Christian slowly moved his mouth down to Ana's chest as his fingers made her moan out loud and writhe under him. His fingers glided through her hot, wet core as his lips and the fingers of his other hand sucked and teased her nipples.

Ana's loud moans egged Christian on and made him burn hotter for her, and when he felt a gush of liquid rush out of Ana's body and a loud cry escape her lips he knew she was ready for him. Grabbing the condom he shoved in his pocket earlier, her rolled it down his eager length and then positioned himself above Ana again.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked, his voice shaky with anticipation. "Because we don't have to do this if you don't want."

Ana nodded her head and grabbed his arms, her nails digging into his flesh. "I want this, I want you. Don't stop."

Christian swallowed hard as he leaned down and moved his mouth over his while he guided himself inside of her. Ana gasped at the contact the same time Christian sighed. Christian slowly pushed himself deeper inside her, wanting to keep the discomfort at a minimum, and when he was finally fully sheathed by her, he let out a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, her face and chest flushed a light shade of red. "Please move now."

Christian began to slowly move in and out of her, immensely enjoying the feeling of her warmth and the tightness of her muscles squeezing him in the best way. He kept his movements steady, and when she began moaning again and meeting his thrusts he picked up his pace.

"I love you," Christian whispered against her lips as his body began to quicken.

Ana bit down hard on her lip and scraped her nails down his back. "Oh God, Christian. I love you, too."

Their bodies met together, their rapid breathing and the sound of their slapping skin the only sounds in the room. Both of their orgasms snuck up on them, and with loud moaning and groaning, they released together, their bodies sinking into the bed in a sweaty heap.

"That was amazing," Christian said after a moment.

Ana breathed through a laugh and looked at him. "That's what I was going to say."

Christian licked his lips as he looked at her. "Want to do it again?"

Ana giggled and rolled on top of him, answering his question with a simmering kiss.

* * *

It was the day before Ana was leaving to go back to England with her mother, and both she and Christian had spent the entire day together, as they had their entire summer. Since Christian's birthday night, they had been the cliché lovey-dovey teenage couple that was so sweet you'd get cavities from just looking at them, but Ana and Christian couldn't care less. All that mattered was that they were in love and together. But now it was time for them to say good bye.

All summer Christian was dreading this day. And each day that passed he told himself that he still had time to be with her. That time was up and he didn't know if he had the strength to let her go.

"I'll be back next summer," Ana told him as they sat on the swinging bench in Ana's backyard.

Christian sighed. "That's too long."

Ana grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers. "Did you forget that they had landlines in London?" She tried to lighten his mood but he was too forlorn too even smile.

He turned his saddened eyes on her. "Ana . . ."

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. "It'll be okay, Christian. I promise. I'll be back before you know it and then I'll move back here when I graduate from high school so we can go to the same college and live happily ever after."

A morose smile pulled at the corners of Christian's mouth. "Yeah . . . live happily ever after."

That same red Volvo that Christian had seen the same day he met Ana was parked in Ray's driveway and Ana's mother was talking to Ray behind the car, the trunk open and Ana's luggage already packed and in the car.

Christian and Ana walked hand in hand towards her parents, and Christian couldn't keep the dark desolation from entering his heart.

"Hello, you must be Christian. Ana's told me so much about you," Carla said with her hand extended and a friendly smile on her face. That was the first time Christian had officially met Carla and he was almost shell-shocked by the uncanny resemblance between her and her daughter. Christian thought they could almost pass as twins, if Ana was about twenty years older.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Wilks." Christian shook her hand.

Carla gave him a sympathetic smile. "Ana's told me how close you two have gotten and how happy you've made her. I can't thank you enough for making her smile more than I've ever seen her."

Christian looked at Ana and squeezed her hand. "She deserves all the happiness in the world."

Ana gave him a sad smile, throwing herself into his arms and giving him a long hug. And when it was finally time for her to leave, she gave him a long lingering kiss with a promise to call him every day when she had the time.

The moment he watched her drive away in that small red Volvo was the same moment he knew his heart would never be complete without her.

* * *

It had been three months since Ana left. For the first few weeks Christian and Ana had called one or the other every night, but then one day she stopped answering her phone. Christian didn't know what happened to bring on her sudden silence, and he went over every possible thing he could have said to her that would have upset her, but he came up short every single time.

He called her house every day for months afterward, but no one ever answered. Then one day he called only to hear that Ana's phone was no longer active. He would have gone next door to ask Ray what was going on, but almost a month after Ana moved back with her mother Ray moved out of his house without a word to anyone. It was almost like they all just disappeared into thin air.

It took Christian a long time to get over her and at first it seemed like an impossible task. But with time her memory began to fade and the pain he felt over her silence just became a lingering ache deep in his chest. With time he moved on and went on to become one of Seattle's top businessmen, and as much as he really wanted to forget the one person he thought he was going to spend forever with, he knew she would always have a place in his heart. And that wouldn't change no matter how much time passed.

* * *

Mia looked at the stack of letter's lying on her bedroom desk. At first she took them not wanting her to take her older brother away from her again. But as more and more came for him it became more of a way to hide what she had done rather than wanting her brother all to herself. She couldn't tell Christian what she had done, but what if her actions had tremendous consequences?

She could blame her petty deceitfulness on her age, but she was older now and she still had the letters. How would she explain her reasons for keeping them all these years?

She decided to just keep her little secret to herself, thinking they were just silly love letters. After all whatever was so important in those letters than couldn't have been important now. Or so she thought.

 **So what do you guys think? Should I keep posting or just give up this whole idea?**

 **I've been going over this idea since last summer and I figured the best way to get it out of my system is to post it, but if you guys aren't interested I'll take it down. Please let me know, and if you didn't like it, please keep your rude, mean comments to yourself. I'll accept constructive criticism, but class A assholes are not welcome here.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

 **April 2013**

Christian ran his hand through his hair as he stepped off the elevator and ignored the receptionists that stood behind the front desk of his building. He needed some air; he couldn't stand to be in his stuffy office too long. He loved his job, but he loved being outdoors and enjoying his life more.

Thankfully it was time for lunch, and like he did every day when the clock struck twelve he walked down to the deli across the street and ordered the same thing: Italian on wheat with mayo.

His shadow, a.k.a. Jason Taylor, followed behind him and kept vigil surveillance of the area around them no matter where they went.

Christian stepped up to the counter, ordered the usual and then walked over to the table where he always sat at as he enjoyed his lunch. It was by the big window that looked into the store but where he could look out at the roaming people on the sidewalk. He liked to people watch, liked imagining what other people did with their time by the way they looked and how they carried themselves.

A young girl with long golden brown hair that grazed her waist walked past the window and caught Christian's eye. She looked familiar to him. The way her nose turned up and her slim limbs reminded him of a distant memory, and then she turned his way and looked through the deli he was sitting in.

The breath caught in his lungs and he was sure his heart stopped beating for a moment. The young girl looked exactly like Ana, but then she looked like someone else he knew too, but still like Ana. She had pale skin, long legs, defined cheekbones and those big round eyes that were so much like Ana's.

Christian knew that time travel was impossible, but wanting to see for himself that he wasn't dreaming, he leapt out of his seat and ran out the door. Taylor had to move fast behind him to catch up with him.

Thankfully the young girl hadn't gotten far before Christian had a chance to intercept her.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said, grabbing her arm.

The young girl turned around fast, her eyes startled but then instantly changed into narrow slits.

"I—"

She cut him off. "Listen, Mister, I don't know what your mother told you but you don't go around grabbing strangers, so if you don't mind I'd like my arm back. And if you do mind prepare to have burning red eyes and a sore groin."

Surprised by the vehemence in her voice Christian immediately let go of her and took a step back. Taking a moment to recover he stepped forward again and gently raised his hands.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, I promise I don't mean to harm you . . . it's just that you look like someone I used to know," Christian admitted.

The girl crossed her arms, dropped one hip and rolled her eyes. "Like I haven't heard that one before. If this is your way of asking me for my number the answer is no."

Christian was the startled one this time. He almost wanted to laugh at the absurd thought; he was practically old enough to be the girl's father. Not to mention that if he was asking for her number he would have to register as a sex offender for preying on a girl who looked no older than 16.

"Um, no. That is definitely not what I was going to ask you." Christian kept his face serious despite the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Then what do you want?" The girl gave him a cautious look.

Christian shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, chuckling silently at himself. He really didn't know what he wanted. She would verify him a total psycho if he asked her if her name was Anastasia and she had traveled from the past. So instead he asked another question, already assuming what her answer would be.

"Um . . . do you by chance happen to know a woman named Anastasia Steele?" Christian asked, inwardly rolling his eyes at his stupid question. Out of all the people in this place, why would this girl know his ex-girlfriend? So what they looked alike, a lot of people looked like a lot of other people. Doesn't necessarily mean they know each other.

So when the girls answer was 'yes' Christian had to do a double take and ask her to repeat her answer.

"Yeah, she's my mom." The girl looked at Christian with a raised brow. "Hey, Mister, are you okay? You look really pale."

"Um . . ." Christian was speechless. He didn't know what to say. Didn't know where to start. He vigorously rubbed his hands over his face and dug his fingers into his eyes.

"Maybe you should go sit down." The girl took his arm and guided him back into the deli and pushed him into the seat he was sitting in previously. She took the seat across from him while Taylor hid in the shadows.

"Um, excuse, Miss. Do you mind bringing me a glass of water for my friend here," the young girl said.

Christian watched as the young girl sat across from him. As he stared at her he could see more of himself now. He saw his lips and his ears. She had his fingers, and when he got a closer look he noticed her eyes were a cool bluish-gray rather than the turquoise of Ana's. But as she was exhibiting she also had Ana's kindness, as well as her sassiness.

"How old did you say you were?" Christian asked once one of the waitresses handed him a cup of water.

"I didn't say. But I'm fourteen turning fifteen this weekend." Before Christian could ask another question she asked one of her own. "So how'd you say you knew my mom again?"

"We were . . . old friends."

She squinted her eyes at him. "You knew her when you were younger?"

Christian nodded. She tilted her head to the side and let her eyes roam over his face. He watched as her expression switched from curiosity to confusion then finally to realization.

Her eyes met his. "What'd you say your name was?" she asked.

"I didn't say. But it's Christian."

"Christian Grey?" she asked, her voice a low whisper.

He nodded, his fingers anxiously playing with the paper cup on the table in between them. "What's yours?"

Her eyes locked on his. "Elsa Grey."

They stared at each other, the time passing them by but neither of them acknowledging it. Elsa was the first to look away when she jumped and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello? . . .Hi, Mom." Her eyes met Christian's again as she continued to talk. "No. I'm at the deli on fourth . . . I'm not alone . . . A guy I just met . . . Jeez, Mom, calm down. I'm pretty sure he's not going to hurt me . . . Well if it helps you know him." Elsa's eyes were still locked on Christian's. "He said his name's Christian. Christian Grey . . . Hello? Mom, are you there?"

Christian watched as Elsa pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at her screen. Christian reached his hand out and silently asked for her phone. She placed it in his hand without hesitance and watched him as he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Christian said.

There was a long pause before he heard her voice. "Christian?" Her words came out sounding like a pained whisper.

"Hello, Anastasia."

"Christian . . ." she repeated, her voice still soft.

"Yes, it's me. And if I'm not mistaken the young girl sitting in front of me is our daughter." He paused and stared at the girl that has just changed his life forever. "I'd say it's time we have a nice, long chat."

 **Did you like it? Let me know!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

Christian heard Ana breathing into the phone, waiting for her to say something but when she didn't he handed the phone back over to Elsa.

When she took it from him she blinked and looked away from him, putting the phone to her ear.

"Mom? . . . Are you okay? . . . No, we're at the deli across the street from this big building . . . Um, I think it says Grey House."

Christian caught her attention. "That's my building."

"Apparently it's um, his building," Elsa told her mother.

Christian asked for the phone again, and she handed it over once more. "Elsa and I will be at my building. I'd like for us to talk. I can cancel my afternoon appointments and we can talk privately in my office."

"Um . . . okay," she breathed. "I can, uh, be there in ten minutes."

"When you get there, just tell the receptionist that you're there to see me. They'll know what to do."

"Okay. Can I talk to Elsa again, please?"

Christian handed the phone back to his daughter. She had an expectant look on her face as she once again put the phone to her ear.

"Yeah? . . . I know, I'm sorry. I won't do it again . . . Okay, love you, too. See you in a few." Elsa ended the call and stuffed her phone back into her pocket then looked back up at Christian.

They took a few moments to just observe each other, adjusting to the fact that they were strangers but shared a special connection.

Christian cleared his throat. "So . . . shall we go now?"

Elsa nodded her head and stood up. Christian scooted off the barstool and stood next to her, noting how she only came up to his chest. He looked up and down at her and had to blink rapidly, having a hard time believing that this little girl who looked so much like Ana was his daughter. He wasn't sure what to do, or what to say. The only thing he could think about over and over again was that he and Ana had created a child and she was standing before him.

Christian turned without a word and exited the deli, looking over his shoulder to see both Taylor and Elsa following behind him. He caught Taylor's eye, but Taylor's expression was stoic as always. He made a mental note to brief him of the new discovery later.

Christian walked across the street with Elsa in step behind him, and then guided her into his company. He continued to walk toward the elevators but when he noticed she wasn't following him anymore he turned around. He found her still standing in the lobby, her neck craned back as she surveyed the area.

"You built this?" she asked him, her voice awed.

Christian nodded and then shrugged. "Well, technically my brother built it but I designed it."

"Elliot?"

Christian looked at her with a surprised expression. "Yes," he answered slowly. "How do you know his name?"

Elsa started in the direction toward the elevators. She shrugged as she strolled beside him along the marble floors. "My mom told me that I had an aunt and uncle when I was younger. I just remembered their names."

Christian stared down at her as they stepped onto the elevator. "Did . . ." he paused and adjusted his tie uncomfortably. "Did your mother tell you about me?"

She looked up at him with eyes so similar to his. "Yes."

Christian took a deep breath and looked forward. It didn't make sense. If Ana told Elsa about him, why didn't she tell Christian? He thought he deserved to know he had a daughter, and the fact that she kept her away all these years pissed him off more than he'd ever been. He missed fifteen years of his daughter's life because Ana, for whatever reason, kept Elsa to herself.

"She wanted me to know that I had more family. You know, just in case one day I wanted to find you guys," Elsa said.

He blinked down at her, a frown pulling his mouth down. What she said didn't make any sense. What did she mean by 'finding you guys?' It's not like Christian's family was the one that disappeared.

The elevator doors opened and Christian was the first to step out. Elsa slowly followed behind him, taking her time as she looked around.

"I can't believe you designed this place," Elsa told him as he led her to his office. "It kind of reminds me of Olympus."

A small smile pulled at the corners of Christian's mouth and pride swelled in his chest at her perceptiveness. When he was designing GEH he used ancient Greek architecture as inspiration. He wanted GEH to be the one place where people looked up to and thought of gods. The fact that the young girl astutely commented on the structure of his building brought home the fact that once again he was looking at his daughter.

"Have a seat." Christian gestured towards the white couch adjacent to his desk toward the back of his office.

Elsa plopped down on the expensive leather as her eyes admired the room.

"So what is it that you do here?" Elsa asked him.

Christian sat in the matching leather chair next to the couch. "I'm the CEO," he told her.

Elsa nodded her head. "I figured you had to be some important top executive to have such a snazzy office. But what is it that your company does?"

"GEH is a major Mergers and Acquisitions company. We deal primarily with telecommunications, agriculture, and ecological efficient manufacturing."

Christian watched as Elsa's brows rose and nodded her head in acknowledgement as she glanced around the room again. "What made you want to run your own company?"

He sighed and leaned back in his seat as he considered his question. He thought it was almost quite ironic how his daughter asked that question when it was her mother that suggested he start his own company.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to make a difference in the world. Wanted my voice to be heard and give back to those whose voices aren't loud enough."

"So in other words you're the world's most successful philanthropist?"

Christian chuckled. "I wouldn't say that, but I do take pride in doing charity work as well as seeing my company's name in Fortune 500's most successful businesses every year."

Elsa nodded her head and then looked out his floor-to-ceiling windows. Christian watched as emotions passed across her features, and he wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he was a little afraid of what her answer would be. He didn't know her, as horrible as he thought that sounded, and he didn't know how to console her. He didn't know how to console any young girl, really.

She stood up and walked toward his desk, letting her fingers trail along the cool glass. He watched as she went behind his desk, observing his computer and then plopping down in his leather seat. She looked up at him with a smile before she started to spin around in it. Christian stayed where he was and watched as she entertained herself.

Her hair was flying in her face and she held her arms out, and then she giggled.

It was almost like Christian had been knocked unconscious and when he woke up it was the summer of 1998 again, and he was at the beach swinging Ana around in his arms, relishing the sound of her girlish giggles.

Her giggle sounded so much like Ana's, and it was then when he realized how anxious he was to see her again. Despite the fact they had a daughter that Ana hadn't told him about, he still wanted to see her more than ever.

And just on cue his assistant alerted him to the arrival of the woman he hadn't seen in fifteen years.

"Mr. Grey, I have Anastasia Steele here to see you," his assistant said through the intercom.

Christian stood up and pressed the red button on his phone. "Thank you, Andrea. Please send her in."

He shifted his eyes to Elsa, and he was surprised by the big grin she gave him.

Leaping out of his chair, she came around the desk and stood next to him, her hand brushing against his thigh. He looked down at her as she looked up at him, but when the door slowly opened they both looked in front of them.

"Hi, Mom!" Elsa said as she stepped toward her mother.

Christian gulped hard after taking a deep breath and stared hard at the only woman he'd ever loved. He didn't have a good look at her face yet since her head was leaned forward as she talked to their daughter. He looked at her body and noticed the small differences, like her narrow waist, fuller breasts and wider hips. He thought the differences definitely complimented her. Her hair was shorter than he remembered. It brushed against her shoulders and had dark blond and honey brown streaks through it. Christian thought she looked more beautiful than ever.

"Well are you gonna talk to him or scold me for being a teenager?" Christian heard Elsa ask her mother.

Christian watched as Ana pursed her lips and then slowly lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She took a small step forward and then nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

She gave him a small nervous smile that still had the ability to make his heart melt.

"Hi, Christian."

Christian took a step away from his desk, his eyes only on hers, not even noticing the young girl in the room anymore.

"Hello, Anastasia."

 **I was not expecting the reception this story would get but I'm happy and appreciative you guys seem to be enjoying it so far.**

 **Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and thank you everyone so much for following and favoriting!**

 **P.S. I changed my username to TiedUpinGrey.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Christian took another step forward as Ana fidgeted in her heeled sandals.

She nodded her head and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear again.

"It has," she breathed.

Christian moved closer to her until he was standing a foot in front of her. Neither one of them noticed Elsa moving over to the back of the room and surveying all of Christian's things.

"We have a lot to discuss," he said, his eyes taking in all of her face.

"We do."

Christian nodded his head and turned on his heel, strutting back to his desk and pressing the red button that connected to his assistant's phone.

"Mr. Grey?"

"I'd like for you to reschedule all of my appointments today, Andrea. I have a special . . . family matter to attend to."

"Yes, sir."

Christian turned back toward Ana. "I have a private conference room we can go to here or we can go somewhere else?" he offered.

She shook her head. "No, here's fine."

He nodded his head. "Okay. Have you had something to eat? I can get my assistant to order you something?"

Ana was about to decline when Elsa spoke from behind Christian's desk.

"I'm hungry."

Christian turned around and looked at her, noting with a smirk how she was sitting in his seat again. "What would you like?"

She shrugged. "I'll eat anything as long as it's edible."

Christian glanced at Ana, and when she nodded her head in agreement, he turned back to their daughter.

"Burger with fries?"

Elsa smiled and nodded eagerly. "Sounds great. Can I stay in here while you two talk? Or whatever you'll be doing?" She looked at them with laughing eyes.

Ana choked and coughed. "Elsa!"

"What?" Elsa looked at Ana with innocent eyes.

"Watch it. That wasn't funny."

Elsa laughed and turned back around in Christian's chair to look back out the windows.

Christian looked at Ana, a small smile on his face. She rolled her eyes at him but couldn't keep her own smile from pulling at her lips.

"Well your mother and I will be in conference room B if you need anything. I'll tell my assistant to order your food when we leave. Feel free to get on my computer if you want but just make sure you don't delete or send anything."

"Okay," she said, turning the chair forward to face the computer and grabbing the wireless mouse.

Christian looked at Ana then, held his hand out for her to go through the doors first. She took one last look at their daughter before she opened the door, stopping when they got into the lobby and let Christian lead the way.

"This way." Christian put his hand on the small of her back, touching her again for the first time in fifteen years. He glanced down his nose at her and smiled when she looked up at him at the same time. She quickly looked away and looked forward, though he could see a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

He opened the door for her when they stood in front of the conference room. She walked in and took a seat at the far end of the table, facing the windows. Christian sat at the head, sitting adjacent to her.

Her head was down and she fidgeted with the silver bracelet on her wrist. He assumed she wasn't going to be the first to say anything, so he spoke first.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

Ana looked up at him, a frown marring her face and confusion in her eyes. "I did."

He placed his folded arms on the table and leaned forward. "No, you didn't. I can honestly tell you that if you told me we had a child I would have been by your side the entire time."

Ana stared at him. "Christian, I did tell you. I had no reason to keep her away from you. You're the one who didn't want to be in her life."

"What gave you that idea?" Christian asked, his voice irritated.

She shrugged and looked down, her expression exasperated. "You never responded to the letters. What else was I supposed to think? I sent you pictures and told you about how well or how bad I was doing and how she was, but you never responded once." She looked up at him again. "What did you expect me to do when you showed no interest?"

Christian shook his head and ran both of his hands through his hair. "What are you talking about, Ana? You never sent any letters."

"Are you calling me a liar?" she snapped. "Like I said before I had absolutely no reason to keep her away from you. I wanted you to be in her life, I wanted her to know her father but you're the one who stayed away. My dad even bought you a plane ticket to come see her after she was born, but you never responded."

Christian stared deep into her eyes and saw that she was telling the truth, and what she was saying made sense. What reason would she have had to keep him away? They never parted with any ill-will towards each other. They were as much as in love when she left as when they were during their summer affair. But even with all that information that doesn't explain why she never answered his calls.

"I'm not the only one to blame. I called you months after you left, but you stopped answering and then one day your phone got disconnected. How was I supposed to know what was going on if you never answered the phone?" Christian demanded, his anger ringing loud and clear through the room.

Ana ran her fingers through her hair and looked down. "I'm sorry about that," she said with a drawn out sigh. "After I found out I was pregnant everything just kind of fell apart. Ray even moved in with me and Mom to try and pick up the pieces."

Christian frowned. "What do you mean by 'everything just fell apart'?"

Ana shrugged and looked out the window with a sigh. "I was fifteen just starting my sophomore year and it was just me and my mom. I was terrified and I could see the disappointment in her eyes every time she looked at me." She stopped and shook her head, her fingers toying with her bracelet again.

"It was just hard. She didn't know what to do; I didn't know what to do. She had just gotten a new job that required a lot of her time and I didn't want to go to that prep school and have all of those snotty kids look down on me. She told Ray a few days after I found out. He didn't want to be away from me and wanted to do as much as possible to help so he moved to London with us. My mom and I were living in a two room apartment then so we had to get a new one to accommodate Ray. My mom said that the home phone I was using to call you came with the apartment and we left it there."

She looked up at him with contrite eyes. "I sent the first letter and when I didn't get a response I got scared. I thought I was going to have to raise our daughter on my own—well with my parents help, of course. But I wanted you there, I have no idea how we would have made it work, but I did want you by my side. And I would have called you, I even asked to use a strangers phone but for the life of me I couldn't remember your number, just the address," she added with a shrug.

"You seem to have done fine without me there though," Christian told her. He stared intensely at her as he tried to figure everything out in his head.

Ana couldn't meet his eyes. "It wasn't easy, Christian. You don't know how much I wanted to fly back and let you meet your daughter but I was scared. You never responded to one of my letters. I just assumed you didn't want to meet her. And I didn't want to come here and introduce you only for you to tell us in person that you wanted nothing to do with us, I wasn't going to make her go through that heartbreak. I didn't want her to know what it felt like to be rejected by her own father," Ana finished, her eyes still cast down.

There was a moment of silence. Then Christian spoke. "She told me you told her about my family, just in case she wanted to find us on her own. And you gave her my last name," Christian added as an afterthought.

Ana met his eyes. "I didn't want her to think I was intentionally keeping you guys away. I didn't want her to think that you guys were bad people—whether you knew of her existence or not. I thought she deserved to know about her family, all of her family."

Christian licked his lips and shook his head. "But that doesn't make any sense. Why would you tell her about us but then not come see us?"

Ana sat up straight in her seat. "I told you. I didn't know whether you guys wanted her in your lives or not. And to tell you the truth as I got older and wiser I began to care less about how you might have felt. My number one priority was protecting my child, even if that meant protecting her from you if rejected her."

"But I would have welcomed her with open arms," Christian argued.

"I didn't know that at the time, Christian! I was young and I didn't know anything. How was I supposed to know what you were thinking when I sent you numerous letters telling you about our child and you never even responded once?"

"I didn't get your fucking letters, Ana! I don't even know what letters you're talking about!" Christian yelled at her.

They both deflated into their seats and silence descended upon them. Christian ran his hands through his hair as Ana kept her eyes cast down.

"I'm sorry," Christian whispered. "I didn't mean to lose my temper."

Ana shook her head and looked at him. "I understand why you're upset. I would be furious if the tables were turned."

Christian nodded, then sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I guess there's no real point in arguing about the past, although I'm going to ask my parents about those letters. But I'd like to get her know her better. And I'm sure my family would like to meet her."

"Of course. That's all I ever really wanted—for her to know her family."

Spiteful words were on the tip of Christian's tongue, but he held back knowing they'd just be arguing in circles.

"She told me her birthday's this weekend?" Christian said.

Ana nodded. "It's Sunday."

"My parents are having a summer party Saturday. Would you two like to come? Everyone will be there."

Ana smiled. "Sure. I'm sure Elsa would like that."

Christian nodded and stood up, reaching out his hand to pull her up. They looked into each other's eyes when Ana put her hand in his. She abruptly looked away and then pulled her hand out of his.

"We should probably go see what Ellie is doing. She has a tendency to get into things," Ana admitted with a chuckle.

"Ellie?" Christian asked as he walked beside her as they went back to his office.

"Oh, yeah. It's just a nickname."

"Oh."

Before Ana reached out and opened the door to let her inside, he stopped short and looked down at her. She looked up at him to see what he was doing, but ended up getting lost in his eyes.

Christian lifted his finger and let it tenderly trail down the side of her face.

"Despite all of this, it's really good seeing you again, Ana."

She bit her lip and gazed up at him. "It's good seeing you too," she whispered.

Christian stared at her, his eyes directly on hers as he slowly began to lower his head. Ana stared at him expectantly and even shifted her weight and began leaning in to meet him, but a voice from the end of the lobby made them spring apart.

"Christian, there you are, babe. I've been calling you all afternoon."

Ana and Christian both turned and looked at the woman coming towards them. Ana smoothed down her hair and took a step back. She glanced down the hallway at the long-legged blonde dressed in a tight black dress and took a glance back up at Christian, noting the grimace on his face. She looked away quickly and kept her gaze on everything but the Christian and the woman walking toward them.

Christian took a deep breath, knowing things were about to get complicated.

 **Thank you guys for supportive and entertaining reviews, it really means a lot! Thank for the follows and favorites, too, it keeps me motivated to write more.**

 **By the way guys, I wrote a few of these chapters before hand so I'm not changing with the length. I'll try to make the chapters more detailed in future but only when necessary. Either way I appreciate the support and can't thank you guys enough.**

 **I've missed you Daytonalay ;)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

"Elena," Christian said, taking a step away from Ana. "I thought we had plans for later?"

Ana looked between Christian and this woman—Elena, and took an even further step back. She wasn't naïve enough to assume he wasn't dating, but seeing him with another woman in vivid color was still a hard pill to swallow.

"Well, Jerry told me that I didn't have to stay for the full shoot so I'd thought I stop by earlier than planned," Elena said, leaning in and kissing Christian on the cheek, making sure her blood red lipstick didn't smear against his skin.

Her gaze shifted to Ana's and then back to Christian. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you busy right now?"

She looked back at Ana, giving her a once over. Ana could see the judgement in Elena eyes, knowing she thought Ana couldn't possibly be anything more than Christian's employee.

"Actually yes, I am." He glanced back at Ana. "Pardon my manners. Elena this is Anastasia Steele. Ana this is Elena Lincoln."

Elena held out her hand. "His girlfriend," she finished.

Ana gave her a tight smile. "Pleasure to meet you." She turned to Christian. "I'd hate to take up anymore of your time. I'll just go fetch Elsa and we'll be on our way."

Before Christian could stop her, she pulled open his office doors and disappeared inside. Elena caught his attention before he could follow her.

"Is she a new employee?" she probed.

"No. An old friend." He kept his tone cold so she wouldn't be tempted to probe anymore. But in usual Elena fashion, she disregarded his tone.

"An old friend? Why have I've never heard of her?" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with her cool, crystal clear blue eyes.

Christian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Listen, Elena, can we do this later? I don't really have the time or energy to get into it with you right now."

She pursed her lips. "Well if you think I'm going to leave so you can catch up with your _old friend_ , you must think I'm stupid."

Christian rolled his eyes and turned around, opening the door to his office with Elena right behind him.

"But why?" Christian heard Elsa ask as they entered his office.

She looked over at him, a small smile on her face and she was about to say something, but then Elena came into view and her smile disappeared. Christian caught the look Elsa gave Ana.

"Okay, let's go, Elsa. I guess we'll be seeing you soon, Christian." Ana grabbed Elsa's arm and pulled her toward the door. "It's was nice meeting you," Ana murmured as she passed Elena.

Elena gave her a tight, insincere smile and watched them leave. When the door closed behind them, she turned to Christian with a raised brow.

"An old friend here with a kid? Really? Let me guess, she came here telling you have a child after all these years, knowing that you're a billionaire now," she scoffed and walked towards hi bar and pulled a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. "Please don't tell me you've fallen for that, Christian."

She was just about to take a sip when she caught his eye. "Oh my God you have, haven't you?" She set the bottle down and started for him. "Christian, babe—"

She stopped short when a knock sounded on his door and then slowly opened. Christian stood up straight when Elsa poked her head around the door.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything I just wanted to give you something," Elsa said, giving Elena an ill-disguised look of indifference. Walking over to his desk she pulled a pen and a notecard off his desk. She looked at him for permission and when he nodded his head she wrote an address down on it. "My mom and I were staying at the Fairmont, but Grandpa and Grandma are making us stay with them. Grandma usually cooks dinner." She gave him a self-conscious shrug. "I thought I'd invite you over, you know if you wanted to come. I mean, you don't have to if—"

"I'll be there," Christian said with a smile, amused and a little touched by her flustered state.

She beamed up at him. "Great! Here's the address. We usually eat around six."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

Christian could see how her eyes lit up at his acceptance, and he felt a happiness he'd never experienced bloom in his chest.

"Okay. Bye." She waved as she walked toward the door.

"Bye."

He looked at the closed doors and was about to turn and sit in his chair when he remembered Elena was still there. She was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"What?" he asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean, 'what?'" she snapped. "Did you really just accept her invitation to spend time with her and her mother and family? Knowing that we had dinner reservations tonight?"

Christian fell into his seat with a drawn out sigh. "Listen, Elena. We've had dinner before and there'll be another time we can have dinner. Stop making such a big deal about this."

Her mouth fell open. "Excuse me? Well, I'm sorry for having a problem with my boyfriend spending time with some woman from his past and her daughter." She stopped, her lips thin as she glared at him. "Was she really here to talk to you about that girl?"

"That's none of your concern," he snapped.

"But I think it is. And there's no reason for you to get snippy with me, unless you're not telling me something."

"Jesus, Elena!" he shouted and balled his fists on his desk. "You're pissing me off more than usual. What I do in my office is none of your damn business and I've told you that before. If you can't respect my privacy than maybe you should go and don't bother coming back."

He watched as her blue eyes turned into hot flames and her red lips thinned in anger. And just like a switch went off in her brain, her eyes softened, her lips went back to their natural pout and her body relaxed. She gave him a contrite smile and stood in front of his desk.

"I'm sorry, Christian. You know I don't mean to be so intrusive. I just don't want you slipping through my fingers. Please forgive me. I'll just reschedule dinner for tomorrow, it's no problem."

His expression didn't change; he was still irritated with her but gave her a sharp nod. She grinned and clapped her hands together.

"Fantastic. Well I'll let you get back to work. I know how busy you are. I'll see you later tonight?" she asked with bright eyes.

"I don't know. I'll call you," he muttered.

"Alright, babe." She came around his desk and gave him a cheek to cheek kiss, making sure she placed her body seductively against his. Christian rolled his eyes, understanding the moment she leaned in what her intentions were.

Elena pulled away from him, blowing him a kiss as she turned and headed for his office doors.

Christian watched her leave his office, not feeling guilty about having no intentions of calling her later that evening. He and Elena had a complicated relationship. He saw it more as sexual while she thought they were in a committed relationship. He never corrected her assumption because he saw no real reason to. But now he did have a reason.

He looked down at the address in his hand, observing his daughter's handwriting. He wouldn't let anyone keep him away from his daughter again.

 **I figured since I'm not sure when the next update will be and because some of you practically begged I wouldn't keep you waiting long ;) I hope you enjoy.**

 **As always thanks for the amazing, amusing reviews, and of course the follows and favorites. It really means a lot guys!**

 **Happy reading!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter five**

Ana had just unpacked her bags in the room her mother prepared for her and was walking down the stairs when someone knocked on the door. Frowning, unsure of whom it could be, she pulled it open and stood shocked as gray eyes stared back at her.

"Christian, what are—Ellie," she said with a sigh.

He gave her a contrite half-smile. "I would have called, but I didn't get your number," he said in way of explanation.

Ana shook her head and stepped back. "It's fine. Come in, I'm sure she'll be excited to see you."

"Really?" he asked and then remembered he had flowers in his hand. "These are for you. Still your favorite?" he asked.

Ana smiled at him and took the pink tulips and smelled them. "Yes." She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. "I'm surprised you remembered after all this time."

He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "It's kind of hard to forget things when it comes to you."

She gazed at him, her eyes locked on his, neither one of them saying anything. He took a step forward.

"Ana, I—"

"You're here!"

Christian and Ana looked up at Elsa as she stood on the middle step and looked down at them with a huge grin on her face. Ana took a few steps away from Christian as Elsa rushed down the stairs and stood next to Christian.

"How shocked was her face when she saw you on the other side of the door?" Ellie asked as she stared up at him with glowing eyes.

Christian chuckled and took a quick glance at Ana. "Pretty shocked."

Ellie laughed. "You should have seen her face when my boyfriend picked me up for my first date."

Christian's smile faded. "You have a boyfriend?" The thought of some pre-pubescent boy dating his daughter didn't sit right with him. It didn't matter to him that he had just met her a few hours earlier, he knew from that day on he'd be there to protect her at all costs.

Ellie rolled her eyes, but they were shinning more brightly. "Not you, too. Grandpa already scared him shitless with his shotgun."

"Language, young lady," Ana scolded.

Ellie sighed but then changed gears and looked back up at Christian. "Grandma and Grandpa are going to be so happy to see you."

"They are?" Christian asked apprehensively as she motioned him toward the kitchen.

"Yeah, they always spoke fondly of the Grey's—well us." She looked at him over her shoulder with a small smile. He returned it.

"Grandma, Grandpa, we have a visitor," Ellie announced.

Carla was in front of the oven, the door opened as she checked the food, while Ray was in the living room sitting in a recliner as he watched baseball. Carla was the first to notice Christian, and she about dropped the dish she'd just pulled out of the oven.

"Oh my goodness," she breathed, her hand over her chest.

Ray came up from behind them, standing behind Elsa as he rested his hands on her shoulders. "Do I need to pull out my shotgun again?" he joked.

When Christian turned around and looked him in the eye, it took Ray a moment to recognize him and when he did, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Well I'll be damned. Must say I never expected to see you standing here in my kitchen, son. How've you been?" Ray asked, stepping forward to shake his hand.

Christian had to recover from his shock at the warm greeting before he spoke. "I'm doing pretty well, you know considering the circumstances." He glanced down at Elsa.

Ray ruffled Elsa's hair as he gave Christian a knowing look that Christian had a hard time reading. "Well it's about time you two met. I told my Annie that something wasn't right about you not wanting to be in Ellie's life, but she was adamant on believing what she wanted. But as it is, what happened is in the past and none of my business."

Carla stepped forward, smiling at Christian as she pulled him into a hug. Christian noted that she smelled like honey. "It's so nice to see you again, Christian. Will you be joining us for dinner?" she asked.

"If that's alright with you?"

"Of course! We'd love the extra company, and I'm sure Ana would just love to—"

"Mother," Ana chided from behind him. He looked back in time to see her shake her head and purse her lips at her mother.

Carla rolled her eyes but pulled Christian into the dining room. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes; I just need to add some finishing touches. Do you like baked ravioli?"

"I don't think I've ever had it, but by the smell of it I can tell I'll love it."

Carla smiled at him and then turned around, but not before pulling Ana into the kitchen with her. He knew it was rude but he strained to hear what they were whispering about.

"You wanna help me set the table?" Ellie asked, distracting him away from eavesdropping.

"Sure." He took the napkins from her hand and laid them next to each plate.

"You don't do this often, do you?" Ellie asked him.

He looked over at her. "Do what?"

"Setting tables, cooking, cleaning—you know just domestic stuff," she said with a shrug as she placed glass cups by each plate.

"Um, I can't say I do. Is that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily. Mom just always told me it keeps people grounded when they do things themselves instead of paying people to do it for them."

Christian considered her comment and didn't know what to really say to it. He paid someone to do most of his household chores but he wouldn't see himself as someone who wasn't grounded.

"So do you, like, live in a big mansion with a basketball court and five cars?" Ellie asked.

Christian chuckled. "No. I live in a penthouse and only have three cars."

Ellie looked up at him with a sulky expression. "You have three and I don't even have one."

The corners of his mouth lifted. "But you're not even sixteen."

"I will be in a year and two days."

Christian chuckled and shook his head at her. "Have you asked your mother for one?"

She rolled her eyes. "Only like a gazillion times, but she always says I have to earn it."

Christian glanced over his shoulder at Ana, feeling even more admiration for her than he had before. She raised their daughter in a way many parents with money wouldn't. She made Elsa work for things instead of handing them to her and creating the spoiled little brats of upper-classed society. Despite the fact that he didn't have a say in Elsa's upbringing, he wasn't upset with the values Ana was teaching her.

He was still staring at her when she happened to catch his gaze. Neither of them looked away and he felt that same pull to her as he did fifteen years ago. He gave her a small smile, to which she returned and then immediately looked away. Christian frowned and turned back to the task at hand.

"You still love her, don't you?" he heard Ellie ask.

He looked up at her and hesitated, but then finally nodded as he took another glance at her. "I never really stopped."

Ellie grinned at him and practically bounced up and down. "I could tell. You look at her like she's your favorite candy in the vending machine." She smirked at him, and Christian couldn't get over how similar it was to his own.

"She loves you, too, you know," Ellie added, her voice a little quieter. "She won't admit it, but I know she does. She's never gotten flustered around other men the way she does with you."

"Really?"

Ellie nodded her grin still on her face but then it slowly disappeared. Christian looked at her but she wouldn't meet his eyes again.

"What is it?" he asked.

She kept her gaze down as she fiddled with the edge of a napkin. "That woman in your office today. Was she your girlfriend?"

Christian hesitated. He didn't know what to tell her because technically there were two answers to that question. He could say no and tell her that she was just a friend, but she wouldn't believe that. And he could say yes, but then he would feel like he was lying to her because he didn't really see Elena as his girlfriend even though she did.

When Christian didn't answer her, she looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Is she?" she asked again, her voice sharp.

"I don't think that's—" he stopped, not wanting to snap at his daughter when he still had yet to get to know her. "Ah, I mean, it's . . . complicated."

Ellie looked at him, her gray-blue eyes turning a shade darker. "I'm not gonna sit here and lie and say I don't want to see you and my mom together, because I think you could make each other happy. But I don't want to see her get hurt, either. I love her to death, and even though I want to get to know you, I'd still choose my mom over you. So whatever your complicated relationship is with your girlfriend or whatever she is, don't bring my mom into it if you're just going to hurt her."

Christian watched her speechlessly as she turned walked away. He was a little surprised she had the gull to say everything she did to his face, but he respected her that much more for it, and for being protective of Ana. He thought her words were unnecessary because he would never hurt Ana intentionally, but he was proud of Elsa for giving him the rundown of things.

Ray came up from behind him, his hand gripping Christian's shoulder.

"So what have you been up to, Christian?"

Christian turned around to face Ray, and gave him a one shoulder shrug. "Aside from keeping my company afloat, there's not very many exciting things going on in my life."

"Your own company?" Ray repeated and then realization spread across his face. "Grey Enterprises Holdings—that's your company?"

Christian nodded his head.

"I've heard many good things about it. You're working on making things more ecologically productive, right?"

Christian nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of a family thing, being conscious of eco-conservative manufacturers and things of the sort."

Ray smiled at him. "Well congratulations on the success, son. I'm proud to see you've grown up to be a nice, respectable young man, unlike some of the other boys Annie's introduced to us."

Christian was about to ask about these other men, but Carla called for dinner.

"Dinner's ready," she chimed and looked around. "Where's Ellie?"

Christian shrugged his shoulders.

"Ellie?" Ana called out.

"I'm comin,' I'm comin,'" Ellie said as she came from the hallway.

Carla set a medium sized pan of pasta in the center of the table as well as a basket of garlic bread. She poured iced tea in everyone's glasses and then came back to sit down.

"Sit." She gestured for everyone to take their seats.

Christian smiled when Ellie sat next to him and looked over at Ana as she took the seat adjacent from him and across from Ellie. Carla sat by Ana while Ray sat at the opposite end, facing Christian.

Everyone started serving themselves, and as they began to eat it was quiet as they enjoyed their food. Christian complimented Carla on the meal, and they made idle chitchat until everyone was finished.

"Who wants desert?" Carla asked, getting up and clearing away the plates before moving toward the fridge. She pulled out an Oreo cheesecake and grabbed desert plates as well as extra silverware.

"Do you like Oreo cheesecake, Christian?" Carla asked.

"Anything with chocolate in it I usually like," he responded with a smile.

Carla began cutting slices and serving them. "I was going to make my famous turtle pie, but then I remembered Elsa's nut allergy and decided to make her favorite instead." Carla winked at her granddaughter.

Ellie turned to Christian. "Grandma makes the best cheesecakes known to man. I wish I could have her turtle pie because everyone always makes a big deal about it." She sighed dramatically. "C'est la vie."

"Do you like Chocolate?" he asked Ellie, and took the small plate Carla handed to him.

"Yes," Ellie said.

"Because my mother makes the best chocolate I've ever tasted. It practically melts in your mouth. You might be able to taste some tomorrow."

Ellie frowned. "What happens tomorrow?"

Christian looked at Ana, who'd been very quiet over dinner. She blinked at him and then turned to Ellie.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Christian has invited us to his parents, um, what was it again?"

"It's a summer party, well more like a spring party. They usually have it to welcome spring and people usually have a good time. I'd like for you to come," he told Ellie.

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, that sounds fun!"

Christian grinned at her excitement. "Great. People usually start showing up around five, but feel free to come earlier. And you don't have to wear anything dressy, jeans and a t-shirt will do."

Ellie clapped her hands together. "I can't wait. I'll be meeting the rest of our—your family?" she asked, her eyes shifting to Ana's in uncertainty.

Christian nodded and gave her a soft smile. "Yes, you'll meet the rest of our family."

Ellie stared at him for a beat, a warm smile spreading across her face and then she whipped her head in Ana's direction. "Can I be excused now so I can pick out an outfit for tomorrow?"

Ana smiled. "Sure, sweetheart."

Carla stood the same time Ellie did. "I'll clear the table and put these into the dishwasher. How about you two catch up some more? Ray, dear, do you mind helping me?"

Ray stood up and helped Carla rinse off the dishes and place the leftovers into the fridge. When everything was cleared up, they both made a hasty retreat. Ana and Christian were left alone, the silence falling upon them. Christian was the first to break it.

"So your parents?" he inquired.

Ana nodded and played with the edge of the tablecloth. Sighing, she said, "Yeah, a few months after Elsa was born they rekindled their relationship and have been together ever since. I've never seen either of them happier then when they're together." She looked up at Christian from under her lashes.

He caught her look but didn't comment on it. "When did they move back to Seattle?"

Ana looked upward as she thought about her answer, biting her lip in contemplation. "Um, I think almost five years ago."

Christian stared at her, his eyes darting back and forth between her eyes and mouth. "And you?"

She licked her lips. "A week ago."

"Why didn't you come back when your parents came back?"

She shrugged. "I had a good paying job and I had enough to support Ellie and myself without my parents help."

He stared into her eyes, finding it hard to look away as he continued to question her. "So what brought you back?"

Her eyes met his, and they shared a moment of silence as they gazed at each other. Ana looked down and slightly shook her head. "I was offered a better paying job . . . and I wanted to be closer to family."

Christian tilted his head to the side. "Yours or mine?"

She pursed her lips and shook her head.

He leaned back in his seat with a sigh and gazed at her for a moment. He was quiet until he said, "Ana . . . I—I want to make this work between us."

She nodded. "Of course. Now that you've met Ellie and you want to get to know her better, I'd never keep you from each other. We can co-parent, we can even do the alternate weekend vi—"

"That's not what I meant," Christian interrupted her as he leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. "I meant I want us to be a family."

Ana frowned and leaned back in her seat. "I don't understand, we are a family?"

Christian ran a hand through his hair. "Damnit, Ana, is it that difficult to understand that I want us to be together? You grew up with your parents together, for a short time at least. I grew up with my parents together. I want Elsa to have the same."

Ana looked at him with her mouth slightly open and a lost expression. "Christian, I—" she stopped and shook her head. "I don't think that'll be a good idea."

He frowned. "Why not?"

She gave him a look. "Well for starter's you have a girlfriend. And I'm just moving back here and trying to get my footing. I don't think us dating will make it any easier for me to adjust. And Ellie's just met you. I don't want her to be bombarded with your presence so suddenly, I think it'll be best to slowly get you two used to each other."

"Elena isn't my girlfriend," he told her outright.

Her brows rose and she gave him a skeptical look. "Really? Because I don't think she knows that."

"I . . . Elena and I—it's complicated between us. We've been . . . together for a couple years but we never established our status. I just let her assume we were dating because I didn't have a reason to tell her otherwise."

Ana shook her head. "Christian, your relationship with her is none of my business. I don't want you to leave her to be with me when she could be the better one for you."

Christian stared hard at her. "I don't want to be with her, Anastasia. I want to be with you."

Ana opened her mouth to contradict him, but he cut her off.

"Are you going to sit there and act like you don't feel what I'm feeling?" He leaned closer to her across the table. "I know you still feel the same for me as I do you, so why shouldn't we be together? We had something a lot of people don't find and I want it back. I want you back, Ana, and I want Elsa to be in my life. I want to see her every day before I go to work and I want to be able to say goodnight before I go to bed. I want both of you in my life forever."

Ana bit her lip and looked down, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She looked back up at him with a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"I do still feel the same. I never stopped loving you, Christian, and hearing you say you want both me and Elsa in your life . . ." She shook her head, looking down and then looking back up, giving him a small smile. "That's all I ever really wanted, and I don't want to bring up the past anymore because neither of us can do anything about it, but I do want to apologize that you missed out on her early childhood. It would've made me incredibly happy to have you with us . . . I'm just sorry. I realize now that no matter what my fears were or believing what I thought was the truth—whatever it really is—I wish I hadn't have kept her away. I can see how much she adores you already."

Christian smiled and gave Ana an indulgent look. "I adore her too. From what I've seen she's pretty incredible. You raised her well."

Christian watched all of Ana's movements as she lifted her hand to scratch above her eyebrow. "Oh, I can't take all the credit, my parents helped mold her into the amazing person she is too."

Christian wished he had the chance to influence her, but he felt a little better that he had the chance to do it now.

He looked down at his watch. "I think I better get going. I need to finish some work."

"Of course." Ana stood up, as did Christian, and she walked him to the front door.

"Tell your parents I said thank you and good bye. And tell Ellie I said I'll see her tomorrow."

Ana nodded. "I will." She opened the door, and waited for him to leave but he stood in front of her and gazed down at her. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just . . . you're just as beautiful now as you were when you were fifteen."

For the first time in a very long time Ana felt herself blush. "Oh, thank you. You look even more handsome now than when you were sixteen."

Christian grinned. "Yeah, all that adolescent acne."

Ana smirked at him. "You never had acne, remember? One of the few of us who didn't."

He returned her smirk. "You didn't have any either."

"No, but I did get those huge tomatoes on my face."

Christian laughed. It was the first time in a while he _really_ laughed. "Do you remember that time I came over your house in the middle of the night and you had spots of toothpaste on your face to get rid if your pimples?"

Ana covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Oh my God, why did you have to remind me of that? That was so embarrassing!"

Christian laughed and gently pulled her hands away from her face. "Even with your toothpaste and pimple covered face, I remember thinking you were the most beautiful person I'd ever seen."

He held on to her wrists and leaned closer. His heart sped up and his body grew warmer as she looked up at him with her Mediterranean blue eyes. His lips were mere millimeters away from her mouth when she suddenly turned her head and his lips pressed against her cheek.

He pulled back and looked down at her.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down to avoid eye contact with him. She looked at him with contrite eyes. "I just don't want to start anything when you still have a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he told her again, letting go of her wrists.

"Well she thinks she is, and I'm not going to put myself or our daughter in any unnecessary drama. So if you want us to be a family then do want you have to do to make that happen."

Christian took a step closer to her. "So you're agreeing to being with me?" His tone was hopeful.

She smiled at him. "Yes, once you—"

"I know, I know, once I tie off loose ends." He grinned down at her. "I'll do it tonight, and when I see you tomorrow I'm going to kiss you like you've never been kissed before."

Ana let out an amused snort. "I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Grey."

He winked at her. "See you soon, Anastasia."

She waved at him as he walked to his car. When he got home, he checked in with Taylor then went to his office. Despite his earlier thought of not calling Elena, he took out his phone and dialed her number.

After a few rings she picked up. "Hey, babe. Are you home?"

"Yes. How about you come over? We need to talk."

 **This is a longer chapter for you guys so I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you all so much for the encouraging and funny reviews, they literally make my day and keep me posting, so keep sharing the love ;)**

 **A lot of your guys questions will be answered soon in later chapters, just be patient.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Happy reading!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter six**

Christian greeted Elena at the elevator as she strutted through his apartment as if she owned the place, tossing her jacket over the breakfast bar and looking around the room as if Mrs. Jones—which is who Christian assumed she was looking for—would pop out of thin air.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Christian asked, walking around the breakfast bar to the refrigerator.

"Oh, no, darling. That's Mrs. Jones job. Where is she?" she asked him with innocent blue eyes.

"Getting ready for bed, I would guess," Christian muttered under his breath as he stood on the opposite side of the breakfast bar and gazed down at her. "Now did you want wine or not?" Christian asked impatiently.

She gave him an irritated look then plastered a smile on her face, stretching her red-stained lips wide. "Such a gentlemen. I'll have some Roscato if you have it, darling."

Christian rolled my eyes as he turned around and fetched Her Majesty a drink. Christian didn't know how he put up with her for so long, or maybe it was just then that she was testing his patience since he found Ana again and discovered he had a daughter, which Elena—surprise, surprise—didn't approve of.

Pulling a bottle out of the fridge and filling the champagne glass with the red fizzy drink, Christian slid it over to her and grabbed a bottle of water for himself, getting his throat good and ready for what he knew was going to be a very long argument.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about, darling?" Elena asked him, her eyes on him—and only on him. Christian wanted to roll my eyes but refrained, knowing she'd give me an attitude if he did. "Is this about your parents' party tomorrow?" Christian saw the excitement building in her eyes. "Because I have the perfect outfit picked out. Did you want me to put together your outfit so we'll match? Oh, we'd just look so perfect together and—"

"Elena," he cut her off, lifting his hand in the air. "My parents' summer party isn't what I want to talk to you about," he admitted with a sigh. She looked up at him with a frown and tilted her head as he walked around the breakfast bar to stand closer to her.

"Then what is it you wanted to talk about, darling?"

That blasted word was really starting to get on his nerves, but he pushed down his irritation as he grabbed her hands and looked down at her.

"Look, Elena, these past couple of years have been great and we've had a lot of fun together, but I think it's time we—"

"Are you breaking up with me?" she all but gasped, an astonished outraged expression on her face.

Christian wasn't really the type to beat around the bush, so he answered bluntly. "Yes."

Her head snapped back in shock, her eyebrows rose, and her mouth fell open and closed as she stared at him like she doesn't know who he was.

"Ex-excuse me?" she spluttered, her brows furrowing as she stood up. "I don't think I heard you right. Did you just say you're breaking up with me?"

Christian placed one hand on his hip as he ran the other through his hair. _Here we go_ , Christian thought to himself as he let out a deep sigh.

"I did," he answered her simply.

She laughed humorlessly, shaking her head and pointed a long, bony finger at him. "No. No! You can't break up with me. I won't let you. You—you can't do this. I thought we were good—we—we are good! I don't—I can't believe this." She shook her head as she paced back and forth in front of Christian, her hands flailing all over the place and a frown on her pretty face. And then she suddenly stopped all movement and turned her accusing eyes on him. "It's that woman with the kid. Isn't it?"

Christian just stared at her for a moment as he tried to think of something to placate her before she went ballistic, but it was too late.

"Isn't it!" she screamed at him.

"Elena—"

"Ughh, I knew it! I knew that money grabbing bitch and her little bastard were going to try to take you away from me, but I didn't actually think you'd be stupid enough to fall for their petty act!" she screamed at him.

"That is enough, Elena!" Christian firmly told her, his voice ringing clear in the open space. "I've never asked anything from you other than your time, your body, and your respect, but you've crossed the line with your continuous insults not only aimed at me but my daughter and her mother." He glared at her as he watched her eyes flame with anger and steam boil out of her ears. "I'm asking you to leave now at your own will, or I'll gladly ask Taylor to dispense of you physically if you can't accept the fact that there's nothing more I want from you."

She all but stamped her stiletto clad foot as he dismissed her. "You'll regret this, Christian Grey. Everyone knows that I'm the best thing to have ever happened to you and when you get tired of playing house with that gold digger and her little brat, don't come running back to me! Because if you think for one second I'll come back to you after she leaves you high and dry, you have another thing coming!"

He sneered at her. "So in other words when I have no money left there's nothing else you'd want from me? Nice to know what I actually meant to you all this time,"—not that he actually cared what she thought of him—"And don't even think about trying to sabotage my relationship—or any relationship I have in the future or I'll take away everything that ever meant anything to you. Now get out."

She gave him one last warning look before she stomped out of his apartment, glaring at him the entire time before the elevator doors closed on her. When she was finally out of sight he sagged in relief, taking her glass and his water bottle and disposing of them.

When he finally got into bed he felt lighter than he had in a long time. He didn't know if it was because he finally didn't have Elena clinging to him like a leech or if it was the prospect of starting something new with his family. His lips curled up at the thought of his family. It was still a little hard to believe that all this time he had a daughter, and even though he was still a little upset that he didn't know about her until a few hours ago, he couldn't help but feel excitement at the prospect of getting to know her.

As he snuggled into the covers he thought about his parents' party tomorrow and could only hope all went well. But for a little while, all he could do was dream of a happy future with his family by his side.

 **I know this is a really short chapter but I wanted to get Elena out of the way before the climatic family drama happens. Also, I find it quite amusing how you guys hate Elena so much. I guess when she's involved in a FSOG fanfic there's the stigma that follows her that she's this crazy, manipulative, unhinged, bitch-which she is-but don't expect too much drama from her. She'll try to get Christian's attention, but she won't do it in ways that will have her committed to a psych ward or thrown in jail. Just an FYI.**

 **Anyway, thank you all sooo very much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! It means a lot that you guys enjoy my writing and hopefully your expectations aren't let down.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven**

Christian woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and optimistic of his future. Today was the day that Elsa would meet the rest of his family and he was excited and anxious to see how they were going to react to her. He had an idea that they would love her as much as he was beginning too—she was an easy person to like with her wit and sassiness.

Getting out of bed and getting ready for the day, Christian grabbed his keys and made his way to the elevators, meeting Taylor by the foyer doors.

"I'll be driving the R8, Taylor, but you may be needed at my parents tonight. Miss Lincoln might have the balls to show up and make a scene," Christian told Taylor as he pressed the down button.

Taylor nodded. "I'll have Reynolds and Ryan patrolling the perimeter looking for trouble, Mr. Grey. And Sawyer has been placed as PPO for Miss Steele and Miss Grey."

Christian smiled at him. "Thanks, Taylor."

They rode the elevator down to the garage and went to their separate cars. Christian left first with Taylor following close behind him. By the time they made it to his parents' house, only a few cars were parked in the designated area in front of the three car garage.

Locking his car behind him, he made his way to the front door of the house, but before he could even knock the door swung open and his mother stood before him in her short sleeved cornflower blue sundress.

"Christian!" she cheered with a bright smile on her face, waiting for him to stop at the first step to pull him into a tight hug. She kissed him on the cheek multiple times before she pulled back and held him by the shoulders. "It's been too long since I've last seen you, dear, you need to stop by more often. You know your father and I miss you."

Christian smiled down at his mother in amusement. "I was here last weekend, Mom."

Grace gave him a chiding look. "And that was too long ago. It would be nice if you would stop by more often; we could even do lunch once a week!" she suggested with a sparkle in her eye.

Christian rolled his eyes as he stepped inside the house and made his way toward the kitchen where he could hear a low murmur of voices emanating from.

"We'll see, Mother. Anyway, I have a surprise coming tonight that I'm sure will bring me around here more often," Christian announced just as he entered the threshold and noticed his father and little sister sitting at the breakfast bar, chatting, most likely about the new boy Mia started seeing.

"Really?" Grace asked from behind him, then coming forward to stand next to her husband, facing Mia. As one, Mia turned around to look at Christian just as Carrick looked up from his cocktail glass.

Mia didn't give him a chance to say anything more as she flung herself into his arms and hugged him tight. "Ohhh! I missed you so much, Chrissy!" Christian hugged his sister back as he looked down at her with adoration. He always felt nostalgic when she called him the nickname she'd called him since she began talking.

"I missed you, too, Mia Mouse. How was Italy?" Christian asked as Mia pulled away and took her seat back at the breakfast bar.

Mia clapped her hands together as her eyes widened and she relayed her experiences of her two-month trek in Italy. "And the food, oh my God, it was amazing! They even showed me some helpful tips on the correct way to make pasta and how to preserve it so that it still tastes fresh even after it's been stored away for a few days. And Matteo's family has this huge vineyard and I can't even tell you how wonderful the wine was! I just loved it there. It was the best experience of my life," Mia finished with a wistful look on her face.

Christian smiled down at her. "I'm glad you had a good time. But remind me to meet this Matteo guy. You may be an adult, but don't think I'm going to just let you date anyone, Mia."

She rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't contain her smirk. "I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from you."

Christian chuckled as he took the martini his father handed him and then shook his hand in greeting. "How's it going, old man?" Christian asked as he leaned against the breakfast bar and took a sip of his father's famous lemon martini.

"As well as legal work can get, son. Now what's this surprise your mother keeps whispering to me about? She said it won't be here until later." Christian looked over at his mother and saw the anxious look in her eyes. He shook his head at her, wondering when she became such a Nosy Nancy. "She has this idea you've finally gotten rid of that horrible woman and are bringing and honest woman here to meet us."

"I really wish you could find a girl that would make you settle down, Christian. Your father and I hate thinking that you may never get married. Elliot has settled down, Mia may not end up marrying Matteo but at least she's been dating. You don't even seem to be trying to find a respectable, young woman to marry, Christian," Grace finished in her usual worried tone.

Christian groaned and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "We've talked about this, Mother. I'll settle down when I find the right woman, and I'll look for her when I'm good and ready to do so."

Grace looked at him with a displeased frown and pursed lips. "Well far be it from me to want the best for my children. You know, we're not getting any younger, Christian. I would like to have the chance to say I'm a grandmother."

Christian raised a brow. "How about you learn to be a little more patient, Mother, and you'd be surprised how quickly wishes come true."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what's that exactly supposed to mean? Please don't tell me you got that awful woman pregnant, Christian."

Christian didn't get a chance to answer her as Elliot and his wife, Kate, strolled into the kitchen. "What's up, guys?" Elliot asked as he put down the bottle of wine he brought. He shook his father's hand and pulled Christian into a brief hug as Kate hugged Grace and Mia. Elliot leaned over to kiss Mia and his mother on the cheek.

"Just waiting for the guests to arrive, and listening to Mom nag Christian into settling down," Mia said in amusement.

"Ah, you're getting the 'When are you going to bring home an honest woman?' spiel," Elliot murmured with a smile. "I remember those days. Now it's 'When am I going to get my grandbabies?' Good times, good times."

Mia laughed as she nudged Kate with her shoulder and smiled up at her. "Are you ready to be a mother?" Mia asked her.

Kate's eyes widened as she looked over at Elliot. Christian laughed at her expression. "Uh, no. I mean, don't get me wrong, the idea of having kids is exhilarating, I just don't think I'm ready to share my time with Elliot yet."

Elliot winked at his wife and smirked at the disgusted face Mia made. Christian looked around at his family as they continued their conversation with Kate and was getting more anxious by the moment at how they would react to Ana's and Elsa's presence. With his mother practically begging for him to get married and have kids, he can only imagine how she's going to feel about having a fifteen year old granddaughter that she never knew about.

He couldn't imagine how his father was going to feel; he had a feeling the lawyer in him wouldn't approve and would probably have more than enough things to say about his unawareness of a child, but Christian could care less. The only thing he was worried about was that his family accepted his daughter and Elsa felt loved.

….

One by one, guests began to show up as the hours passed, and Christian was beginning to become impatient as each faced that passed him wasn't Ana's or Elsa's.

As the day began to drag on, Christian was beginning to worry that Ana may be too scared to show up. Walking to the front of the house through the sitting room, Christian pulled out his phone and dialed her number. He waited until the call went to voicemail and then hung up, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

He paced for a moment thinking of what to do before he dialed Sawyer's number with the intent to inquire where the girls were. Sawyer picked up on the second ring. "Mr. Grey?"

Christian put his hand on his hip as he paced in front of the threshold of the sitting room. "Sawyer, I would like to know where An—Ana!" Christian called out as he saw her walk past. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes moving to Elsa's. She smiled and waved at him, her eyes sparkling, her sleeveless dark blue dress making her cool blue eyes stand out more.

It took him a moment to remember that Sawyer was still on the other end of the phone. "Never mind, Sawyer." He hung up and took a step closer to them. "I'm so glad you guys came," he said, leaning down to kiss Ana on the cheek and then giving his daughter a hug.

"We would have been here sooner if Mom wasn't taking forever to pick out an outfit," Elsa commented with a sly glance in her mother's direction.

Christian noticed the way Ana narrowed her eyes at their daughter and couldn't help but smile at the exchange. "You chose well. You look great," Christian said to Ana.

Ana looked down at her yellow strapless dress and then back up at Christian with a shy smile. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you. You look great, too."

Christian smiled at her and found it hard to look away from her enchanting eyes. He could feel the emotions he felt fifteen years ago slowly resurface as they gazed at each other. A thousand thoughts were fighting for dominance in his mind but the thought of pulling her into his arms and making love to her for hours kept popping up every time he tried to force it away.

"Did you guys forget I was still standing here, or did you mean for me to be traumatized by the bedroom eyes you two had going on?" Elsa remarked as she looked between the both of them.

Ana turned and looked at her daughter with an exasperated expression. She was about to berate her for the inappropriate comment but Christian's laughter interrupted her.

"I guess we should get used to not having any privacy like we used to, huh?" Christian said, amused, and laughed again at Elsa's disgusted expression. "Come on, there's some people waiting to meet you, Elsa, and see you again, Ana."

Christian guided them to the back of the house and out to the deck. Grace was approaching them with a young woman with dark red hair on her arm when she came face to face with Christian.

"Christian, dear, this is Esmerelda and she just moved back to the area. She said that she remembers you from Seattle Prep. Maybe you could reacquaint her with the area?" Grace suggested with a mischievous smile.

Christian smiled politely at the girl and then turned and gave his mother a knowing look, letting her know he knew what she was doing. He pulled Ana and Elsa closer to him, sending a hint to both the girl and his mother that such an arrangement wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Sorry, but I'm already on tourist duty," he insincerely apologized, his eyes on the girl who looked suddenly depressed. He watched her walk away in a pout and thought that he was lucky he didn't have to spend any time with the woman if she acted like a child when she didn't get what she wanted.

Christian turned back to his mother and found her staring at Ana and their daughter, her eyes wide and confused as she looked back and forth between them before she settled her gaze on Christian.

"Christian Trevelyan Grey, is there something you need to tell me?"

 **Sorry this took so long to get out, I've had a busy week. Hope you guys liked it and thank you for the encouraging reviews, follows and favorites!**

 **And to the guest reviewer Casey, I appreciate you pointing out to me that I made a mistake but I don't appreciate you doing it in a way that makes you come off as a smart ass. I read over every chapter I post but I do miss things and I will continue to miss things because I'm human and it's in my DNA to make mistakes. If you can't accept the fact that there will be misspelled words and grammatical errors then save yourself the time and energy and just refrain from leaving a review or reading my story.**

 **This goes for everyone else who happens upon any of my stories. I'll always accept constructive criticism, but I absolutely WILL NOT tolerate smart ass bullies who condemn others for being human-especially when we all know they make mistakes themselves.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight**

Christian looked down at Ana and Elsa as he pulled them forward so they were face to face with his mother. He tried to contain his laughter at the befuddled look on his mother's face as she continued to look back and forth between all three of them.

"Mom, you remember Anastasia, don't you?" Christian asked.

Grace silently nodded her head, her face growing paler by the minute as understanding and clarity passed rapidly through her eyes.

"Well, it turns out fifteen years ago, when she left for England, she was carrying our child. Mom, this is Elsa," Christian said, motioning to his daughter. "Elsa, this is my mother, your grandmother, Grace Trevelyan Grey."

Elsa gave Grace a small wave and smiled at her politely, silently waiting to see how she would react to finding out that she had a grandchild she never knew about. Christian watched his mother try to get her bearings straight. He was going to wait a few more minutes to let her digest the new and unexpected information, but all three of them were taken by surprise when Grace moved forward with speed Christian didn't realize she possessed and scooped Elsa into her arms and held her tight.

"Oh, my darling girl! Look at you!" Grace pulled back and held Elsa by the arms to get a good look at her. "Such a beautiful face. And look at that, you have Christian's eyes, but Ana's pretty face shape." At the mention of Ana's name, Grace turned to her with tears in her eyes and pulled her into a hug too. "It's been so long, dear. Aside from the obvious, how have you been? We've waited for years to hear news about what happened to you guys but nothing ever surfaced. How are your parents doing?"

Ana hugged Grace back after letting out a breath of relief. She was a little anxious to know whether or not Christian's mother would blame her for missing so much of Elsa's life, but she was grateful for the warm welcome.

"I've been doing well, you know, all things considered. And Ray and Carla are doing fine. They moved back a few years ago and are living not too far from here, actually."

"And what about you? Are you just visiting?" Grace asked, shooting a subtle glance in Elsa's direction. Christian noticed how Grace's eyes shimmered with tears every time she looked down at her granddaughter.

"We've just moved back here. And I think we're here to stay this time," Ana said, running her hand over Elsa's head when she looked up at her.

Grace grinned brightly at her. "I'm glad to hear it." She took a moment to just a gaze at Ana and Elsa, then turned to Christian before she started talking again. "Forgive me, where are my manners? Come, come join the festivities." Grace took Elsa hand and led her down the rest of the steps toward the back of the yard where a majority of people were.

Ana nodded her head at Elsa as she looked back at her as Grace pulled her along. Christian and Ana stood side by side as they watched Grace introduce Elsa to practically everyone within a ten meter distance from them.

"I hope you know my mother is going to spoil her rotten," Christian murmured.

Ana looked up at him with a smirk. "I can't say I'm surprised by that information, Mr. Grey."

Christian smiled down at her, watching the way her eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she looked up at him. "Before you leave, Ana, I'd really like to talk to you."

She nodded her head. "Okay. I think we should probably do it after the excitement of Elsa's arrival simmers down."

Christian chuckled. "I think her arrival is going to take some time to adjust to. My mother is over the moon and I can tell she's just going to draw this out as long as she can."

Ana chuckled this time. "I can't say I really blame her."

"Bro!" Elliot yelled, sprinting toward him and Ana. "Mom is introducing this chick to everyone that looks like Ana. She's saying it's you daughter. Is she desperate for a kid or what?" Elliot laughed as he stood next to Christian, not even realizing Ana was there.

She stepped forward into his line of sight and waved at him. "Hey, Ellie Belly, long time no see, yeah?" Ana said.

Elliot did a double take and then promptly let his mouth fall open for a good minute before he closed it again and blinked several times. He shifted his gaze to Christian and then back to Ana. "So it is true then? That girl with Mom is really your daughter?"

"Yes," Christian answered.

Elliot looked at Ana with scrutinizing eyes. "It's a long story, Elliot," Christian said before Elliot could start firing questions at Ana. "One that I actually need to get straight with Mom and Dad." He grabbed Ana's hand as he turned to Elliot. "I guess after everyone leaves it'll be a good idea to have a family meeting and we can talk about all of this. For now, I just want to enjoy my time without interruption. So if you'll excuse us."

Christian pulled Ana along down the steps and toward the buffet table. "Don't worry about what people are going to say, Ana. I can see it's bothering you already."

She looked up at him with skeptical eyes and then looked back down. "My family is obviously going to have questions, and they may be a little irritated at first that they're just now meeting Elsa, but I promise you with time they'll get over it and just be happy they've met her now."

"I know, I know. It's just . . . I don't want them to think that I kept her away because I didn't want you guys in her life or because I didn't think you wouldn't have made a good father."

Christian took the plate Ana was holding in her hands and set it down on the table so he could take both of her hands in his. "They'd never think that, Ana, not once we explain the misunderstanding to them and we can get to the bottom of where those letters went."

Ana silently nodded her head as she stared up at her first love. "You haven't changed much," Ana commented.

"You think?" Christian asked.

She shook her head. "Well, I mean you have, in obvious ways. But you're still just Christian. The nice, understanding boy I fell in love with fifteen years ago."

Christian stepped closer to her and tucked a soft strand of honey blond hair the wind blew into her face behind her ear. "You've changed," he said. "But all in good ways. You've matured. And your body is definitely different."

Ana looked down her body with pursed lips. "I know. Fifteen years later and I'm still trying to get off my pregnancy fat." She rolled her eyes and laughed at herself.

"I think your body looks better than it did when we met. It's fuller, and you have these amazing curves." He ran his hand along the side of her body, making Ana's body come alive at the touch. "I've missed holding your body in my arms. Missed kissing you."

He leaned down closer as Ana stared up at him, her eyes slowly closing and her body leaning toward his as she waited for his skin to make contact with hers.

"Christian?"

Ana and Christian jumped apart when a woman's voice sounded behind them. Christian took a step back and turned to look down at his sister.

"Mia, what's wrong?" he asked when he noticed how pale she looked.

She blinked a few times as she stared blankly at Ana. Christian glanced back at Ana and gestured toward his sister. "You remember Mia, right, Ana?"

Ana nodded and smiled, trying to get her breathing back under control. "Of course." She smiled genuinely at Mia then as she stepped forward. "It's good to see you again, Mia. Last time I saw you, you had a Barbie backpack and lunch box." Ana laughed softly at the memory but her face fell slowly when Mia just continued to stare at her with a deer in headlights expression. "Are you okay?" Ana softly asked, reaching out to touch her arm.

Mia immediately stepped back and turned around and stiffly walked back into the house. Ana looked to Christian with a worried expression. Christian just shrugged his shoulders but looked down at the food on his plate with a frown. He figured he'd find out what was wrong with his little sister later, though he was starting to get a sense of déjà vu.

Christian led Ana to an empty table so they could eat their food while they intermittently watched as Grace made her rounds with Elsa and introduced her to everyone that paid attention to her.

"My mom is in her element right now," Christian snorted as he watched his mother pinch Elsa's cheeks and then smile as an older woman laughed at something Elsa said to her.

Ana looked over at her daughter and Grace with a smile. Feeling grateful and happy that the Grey's seem to be taking to Elsa very well, even though she didn't know how Carrick and Mia were feeling about the new revelation.

"Elsa has the tendency to bring out the good in others and make them laugh," Ana said as she took a sip of her lemonade.

"I assume she got that trait from you," Christian said.

Ana looked at him with a frown. "Really? Because I was sure she got that from you. You always had the ability to make me smile and cheer me up when I was feeling down."

Christian shook his head. "No. That was always your gift."

Ana just shook her head at Christian and smiled, figuring it would be pointless to argue with him.

"Miss Steele, it's a pleasure to see you again, albeit under the circumstances I'm quite confused why we're just seeing you now," Carrick asked as he approached the table with a heavy frown on his lips.

Christian glared up at his father. "Dad, we've already decided to go over the details with you guys after everyone leaves. Please don't give Ana a hard time until then. Just wait a few more hours and we'll tell you everything you want to know."

Carrick looked between the two of them and nodded. He laid a hand on Ana's shoulders and gently squeezed. "Despite this new discovery, I am glad to see you again, Anastasia. It's been too long and I must admit I have missed fishing with your father in Astoria."

Ana looked up at him with a wary smile. "Ray and my mother actually moved back a few years ago. I could give you their contact information to get in touch with them if you'd like," Ana offered.

Carrick smiled at her. "That would be nice."

Ana wrote down her parents number and address on a napkin and handed it to Carrick. "Great," he said looking at Ana's fast scribbles. "I've been trying to look for a good fishing partner since Ray left, and I tell ya, you wouldn't think they'd be hard to come by." Carrick smiled at them before he left and walked over toward his wife and granddaughter.

"Well, that was interesting," Ana mumbled.

Christian sighed and ran his hand through his hair, knowing that the night was far from over before things continued to get any more interesting.

* * *

Christian was leaving the bathroom in the hallway when he got glimpse of Mia staring out of the window, watching someone intently. Christian came up behind her and said, "Mia."

Mia jumped and gasped, putting her hand on her chest as she looked up at Christian with wide eyes and a reddening face. "Christian. You—you scared the crap out of me!"

Christian narrowed his eyes at her as he leaned to the side to see exactly what it was she was looking at. He looked out through the glass and saw Ana and Elsa chatting with Grace and a few of Grace's friends. He looked back down at Mia with a frown.

"You haven't said hello to your niece yet," Christian commented, his voice low as he gazed at his little sister.

Mia avoided his gaze as she shifted from foot to foot as if she was suddenly uncomfortable talking with her brother. "Mom is monopolizing her. It's kind of hard to get a word in."

Christian scowled down at her, immediately recognizing her lie the moment it passed her lips. "I get you aren't fond of Ana—you never really were now that I think about it, but the least you could do is welcome them without the cold shoulder. Elsa is my daughter and she's not going anywhere. The faster you get used to her the easier it will be."

And without a backward glance Christian walked around Mia and joined Ana and his daughter. Mia chewed on her lip nervously as she watched her brother walk away from her. She wrung her hands together anxiously as she wondered now how important those letters really were. She knew a long time ago that she should have given Christian those letters, but she didn't know how she would explain why she had all of them for so long. Now she was wondering if she would have to answer that very question in front of her entire family and be subjected to their anger and disapproval.

She wondered if she could just ask Christian to talk in private and explain to him everything she should have said years ago. She urged herself to move forward and ask Christian for a moment of privacy, but her feet were glued to the ground. She was terrified. She knew exactly what he would say to her once she handed over the letters and she wasn't ready for Christian to look at her with betrayal and hurt that she had kept such an important secret from him. She didn't know what was in those letters when she had taken them, but she didn't think that would matter to Christian. With one glance at the one person who changed her life, she turned and walked further into the house and out the front door.

She couldn't stand to face the truth, and deep down she knew that she couldn't keep running away forever. But for the moment she was more than content to live like she was still that eight year old girl that didn't know how big of a mistake she made.

 **I know it's been a while, my job isn't giving me much time to myself, so if you guys could be patient as I try to get through this busy time right now I'd really appreciate it. Once I have more time I promise I'll try to write more detailed, lengthy chapters, but for now I hope you guys are happy with this until I can update again.**

 **Thank you all for the supporting reviews, follows, and favorites!**

 **Happy ready!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I heard it's someone's birthday tomorrow," Grace said to Elsa as she looked down at her with pure adoration while grinning at her. Christian looked at his mother and daughter and felt his chest expand with gratitude and love, feeling happy that his mother had completely accepted Elsa despite the circumstances of the situation.

Elsa looked up at her grandmother and smiled warmly at her. "It is! I'll be fifteen. One year closer to sixteen, which means one more year until I can get my own car?" Elsa looked at her mother with hope in her eyes as Grace and Christian laughed.

Ana raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "We've been over this, Elsa. You know what has to happen to get a car."

Elsa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we work for the things for we want."

"That's exactly right."

"But why do I have to work for anything when it turns out my father's loaded?" Elsa whined.

"Elsa!" Ana chided her daughter, her eyes shifting to Christian in sheer embarrassment. "What have I told you about thinking about what you say before you say it?"

Christian laughed at Ana's embarrassment and Elsa's lack of brain-to-mouth filter. He shook his head as he watched Ana pull their daughter to the side and chastise her further.

They were sitting in his parents' sitting room, most of the guests having already left. They were chatting about inconsequential things as Christian, Grace, Ana and Elsa waited for the rest of the Grey family to join so everyone could hear the most anticipated story in Grey family history.

Christian was sitting on one of the love seats, a tumbler of whiskey in his hand as his mother stood by Ana and Elsa, clearly too infatuated with the fact that she finally has a granddaughter to leave Elsa's side. Christian had to internally chuckle and shake his head at his mother. She had introduced almost every single living soul at the party to Elsa with a proud smile on her face. He assumed most people wondered why they were just now hearing of a granddaughter, and he assumed many had asked, but he was hopeful his mother didn't give too much personal information away.

His gaze shifted back to Ana as she smiled at Grace while she unconsciously ran her hand over her daughter's head, smoothing out her long golden brown hair that looked so similar to her mother's at that age. He stared at Ana as she talked, watching the way her mouth moved, the way her lips formed each and every word. The way her eyelashes fluttered over her pale, creamy cheeks. The way her nose crinkled when she smiled. He was still as obsessed with her now as he was fifteen years ago, but now he thought he was even more danger of losing himself completely in her, and it was only because she gave him the greatest gift anyone could ever give him: a child.

He would admit that he was still irked by the fact that he had just learned of her existence, but that fact seemed to pale in comparison to the knowledge of now knowing she would be in his life from here on. She had that type of personality a person just couldn't help but like. And she had this aura about her that pulled you in, a trait he was sure she had inherited from her mother. Not to mention her beauty, another trait he attributed to Ana, though he was proud that Elsa possessed a few of his characteristics such as his eyes.

"Are you expecting her to disappear again?"

Christian looked up and saw Elliot and Kate standing next to him, his dad trailing in after them. Kate kissed Elliot on his cheek, gave Christian a smile and walked over to the women as Carrick poured himself a drink from the decanter on the opposite side of the room.

Christian's eyes moved back to Elliot's. "No. Why would you ask me that?"

Elliot smirked at him and shrugged his shoulder. "You were staring so hard, I was wondering if you expected her to vanish into thin air before your eyes."

Christian lifted a brow at his brother. "Is that what you're expecting to happen?"

Elliot stared into his eyes, hesitating before he gave his answer. "Don't punch me for saying this, but yeah, I am." His tone grew quieter. "You can't tell me that you're not even a little doubtful that she's not going to just run again, Christian. I mean she hid your daughter from you, what's stopping her from doing it again?"

Christian stood up as he gazed at his brother, setting his drink on the coffee table. "She never hid Elsa from me."

Elliot's frown deepened. "Well it wasn't like she was sending you post cards with their location either. She could be back now just in search of another source of income."

Christian shook his head and ran his hand through his hair as he struggled to keep his temper in check. "You just don't understand. I don't think you ever did, but that doesn't matter anymore. Ana's back in my life now, and I know the way she feels about me and she knows the way I feel about our daughter. Nothing any of you can say about why we're just now learning about Elsa is ever going to change that."

Elliot held up his hands defenselessly. "I'm just looking out for you, Christian, and you're right I don't understand, but I hope I will soon."

Christian turned away from his brother and walked over to the women of his family. Ana was the first to look at him as he approached and she gave him a shy smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. Christian smirked at her, happy that he could still evoke certain feelings out of her even after all this time.

"I think it's time to get to the main part of the evening folks," Christian said, pulling Ana into his side and leading her over to the couch.

They sat on the love seat closest to them, the rest of his family following suit. Elsa plopped herself in between her parents, looking up at them with a wide smile, as Christian's family sat across from them, gazing expectantly at the trio.

"Um, so where to start?" Christian began, rubbing his hands together as he tried to process his thoughts into a way his family would understand best.

"Probably at the part where you banged mom and I was the result," Elsa commented, picking at the ends of her hair.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before they broke out into laughter. Ana was looking down at Elsa once again with a look of displeasure while Elsa merely shrugged her shoulders apologetically. Ana just turned away and shook her head, rubbing her index and middle finger in between her eyebrows.

Christian chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I guess that is a good place to start, but I think Ana would be able to fill in the blanks better than I could."

Ana took a big breath before sitting forward in her seat and clasping her hands together on her lap. "Uh, well, as you all could have guessed I found out I was pregnant with Elsa the year I turned sixteen, only a few weeks after my mother and I moved back to England for the school year." She paused as she nervously tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. "Not long after I found out I was carrying, my dad joined us out there to help take care of things that seemed to keep falling apart. And if I knew I was pregnant before I left I would have fought harder to stay here." Ana looked up at all of the Grey's gazing at them with sincere eyes. "I just want you all to know it was never my intention to keep Elsa away from you, I wanted her to know her family. I loved all of you guys, and you all have always treated me as if I was a close relative of yours. I would have never intentionally kept such a huge secret from you."

Everyone was just gazing at her trying to process what she had just said. Kate was the first to speak. "Then why did no one, not even Christian, know about her existence until what, close to a week ago?"

Christian answered her question. "That's what Ana and I can't quite understand." He turned and looked at his parents. "Ana sent me letter's all those years ago, telling me about the pregnancy, why she moved, everything, and yet I don't have them. Do you have any idea where they could be? Did you guys keep them from me?"

Carrick and Grace frowned and looked at each other with confused expressions. "No, of course not. We would never withhold something that was addressed to you. We could maybe check old letters in your father's filing cabinet, but I don't recall seeing any letters from Ana. I'm sure I would have given them to you the moment they came into the mail, darling," Grace said, gazing at Christian with a thoughtful frown.

Christian sighed and ran his hand through his hair again, at a loss as to what to think. A part of him truly wondered if Ana really did send any letters but then he berated himself, knowing deep down Ana would never betray him like that. But that still didn't explain where every single one of her letters could have gone. Did they get lost as they were being shipped overseas? Did they go to a different address? Did someone steal them? Christian thought it quite odd that every single letter that had been sent to him is missing. And he knew for a fact that that Ana sent those letters over a period of time, so he was having a hard time understanding how multiple letters over a course of a long period of time just disappeared. He was left with more questions than answers, and he was feeling more confused than ever.

"Does Aunt Mia not like me?" Elsa whispered to her mother, pulling his attention away from his inner thoughts. He looked up, his eyes roaming over the room, shocked that he was just now noticing that his younger sister had been missing all this time, but as he continued to think about her absence it made sense. Ever since he had introduced Ana and Mia to each other, Ana had been nothing but sweet and kind yet Mia seemed to avoid her like the plague and look at her as if she broke her favorite toy.

Christian's frown deepened as he thought longer about his sister's distaste for Ana. It surprised him that she wasn't all over Elsa, loving the fact that she had someone younger to go shopping with, or discuss all the latest gossip with. At first he just thought it was because Ana was back and she didn't know how to react, but he was now thinking it was a whole different reason all together that Mia was missing.

Just then they all heard the front door slam shut. All heads turned to the entrance of the sitting room as Mia passed by. She stopped when she realized everyone was there, looking at her expectantly. She avoided looking at Christian's side of the room as she asked, "Hey, guys, what's going on?"

"And where have you been at such a late hour young lady?" Carrick asked.

Christian stood, catching everyone's attention. "And while you're explaining your whereabouts, maybe you can tell us what you have been hiding for the last fifteen years?"

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the update, and if you find mistakes please excuse them. I have a little down time next week so I'll be trying to get the next chapters written and posted soon.**

 **Thank you to every one who favorited and followed. And thank you for the lovely, encouraging reviews. You guys really are the best readers!**

 **Happy Reading!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten**

Mia looked around the room, finding all eyes on her. She turned back to Christian and then just as quickly looked away, nervously fiddling with the bracelet on her arm. Looking back up at her father with a smile and giggling she said, "I just went out with Lilly and we went to Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream."

"We have ice cream here, why did you need to go out, especially with Ana being back and meeting Elsa for the first time," Grace said, confusion in her voice. She was looking at her daughter with a frown.

"Lilly . . . I—I know Christian doesn't like Lilly but she wanted to see me, so I offered to meet up with her." Mia shrugged nonchalantly, then threw her hair over her shoulder like she didn't have a care in the world. "Are you guys done questioning me now? I'm meeting Matteo tomorrow and I'd rather not looked raggedy and exhausted." She avoided looking at Christian, Ana or Elsa as she turned around and headed for the stairs but Christian's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Mia, I asked you a question." Christian stepped forward so when Mia turned around to face him he was only about a foot away. He stared down at her with a severe frown on his face and his arms folded across his chest. "I was told that Ana had sent me letters fifteen years ago, with rather important information. I never received them. Have you seen them?"

The color slowly faded from Mia's face, her eyes widening and her breathing shallowing. "I—no. I haven't seen them. Why would—How would I know I know where they went?" She looked up at him, her hazel eyes almost pleading with him to believe the lie she told. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

She tried to turn around again but Christian grabbed her arm before she could get very far. Mia slowly looked up at him, her face even paler now and tears slowly starting to brim in her eyes. "You may have gotten away with lying to Mom and Dad, but don't try to pull that shit with me, Mia. Where are the letters?"

Carrick stood up and tried to come to his daughter's defense, not appreciating the way Christian was interrogating her. "Christian, she already said she doesn't know where the letters are. Let her be." He came to stand next to Mia, pulling her into his side as if guarding her from Christian's anger.

Christian glared at his father. "You know, if you hadn't spoiled her rotten since the moment she was born she wouldn't act like such an entitled little brat!"

"Christian!" Grace chided, coming to her feet as well. She came around and went to Mia, pulling her into her arms as Mia began to cry.

Christian felt Ana come up behind him and grabbed his hand. "Maybe we should call it a night and give everyone a chance to calm down?" she suggested, looking at Christian and then over to his parents and Mia.

Christian snatched his hand out of Ana's and stepped forward to Mia once again, ignoring Carrick as he glared at Christian and pulled Mia closer to him. Watching his father guard his little sister from him infuriated Christian more. He knew that his father knew he would never lay a hand on her, and he knew that wasn't the reason he was guarding Mia. It aggravated Christian that in his parents' eyes, Mia never did anything wrong and the moment anyone tried to accuse her of a wrongdoing they immediately jumped to her defense.

"Tell me where they are now, Mia, or I swear I will never forgive you and I will never have anything to do with you again," Christian said, his voice controlled and filled with anger.

Mia gasped and let a sob escape, just as his mother said, "Christian Trevelyan Grey! How could you say such a thing to your sister!"

Christian ignored his mother's angry tone and Mia's crocodile tears as he waited for her to give him an answer. The room was deadly quiet as everyone looked between brother and sister, waiting to see what would happen next. Ana and Elsa stood near the side of the couch. Ana wondered if she should pull Christian away and tell him to just forget about the letters and move on, but she didn't think he would appreciate her interference again. Elsa wasn't sure what to do, and she wasn't exactly sure what was going on. She knew that somehow the sibling argument had something to do with her, and she felt guilty that she was the reason her father and aunt weren't getting along, but she didn't know what to say or do to make everything okay again.

Mia stared up at her brother, tears streaming down her face. Looking back down at her feet, she took a deep breath and quietly said, "They're in the shoebox in my closet. Behind my pink carry-on."

Dead silence followed Mia's admission. Mia slowly looked up at Christian, tears silently streaming down her face, guilt and regret clear in her eyes. "Christian . . ." Mia whimpered.

"How could you?" Christian asked, his voice deathly quiet as he glowered down at Mia. "You knew how much Ana meant to me, and to keep what you've done a secret for so long, to hide those letters from me . . ." He trailed off, his mouth settling into a thin hard line, and his eyes glaring holes into his little sister.

Mia sobbed as she tried to reach for Christian, but he pulled away from her before she touched him. "Christian, please, I'm so sorry! I promise I didn't—"

"You didn't what? You didn't mean to do it? Oh, cut the bullshit, Mia. You've had a problem with Ana since day one, and you kept all those letters from me. Did you read them? Did you know what was in them?" Christian ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. I'm getting those letters and then we're leaving." He glared down at Mia with an intense expression and lips pressed together so tightly they practically disappeared. "Don't call me. Don't text me. Don't email me. I want nothing to do with a manipulative backstabber." Christian turned and looked around at Elsa and Ana. "Let's go. Now."

"Christian, please! Let me explain," Mia begged, reaching for him again, but Christian swiftly moved his body out of her grasp and left the room.

Elsa followed quickly behind him, slightly scared she would be snapped at if she didn't. Ana slowly followed behind her daughter and Christian, but when she passed Mia she stood in front of her and stared at her for a moment. Once again the room was quiet as they wondered what Ana would do or say. Ana reached out and gently placed her hand on Mia's shoulder. Mia looked at her with apprehensive eyes, but Ana's gentle, sympathetic smile eased her worries.

"We all make mistakes. Just give him some time." She gave Mia's shoulder a quick squeeze then lowered her hand and followed Elsa to the car, waiting for Christian to come back with the letters.

They knew when Christian left the house by the sound of the front door slamming shut. The rest of the Grey family was once again met with resounding silence. Elliot was the first one to break the silence. "Well, you fucked up didn't you, little sister?"

Everyone turned and glared at him as Mia covered her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably and ran out of the sitting room and up the stairs.

"You just never know how to keep your mouth shut, do you?" Kate asked, rolling her eyes at him before following Mia's tracks out of the room.

Grace slowly sat in the chair staring at her clasped hands as Carrick stood still by the threshold of the living room, almost as if in shock. Everyone was quiet, musing over everything they just learned, realizing that Mia was the reason for not knowing about Elsa for so long.

Grace leaned back in the chair and rubbed her forehead. With a sigh she said to no one in general, "What a great way to end the evening."

 **I know this is short but I'm still working on the next chapters so be patient with me. Thank you all for the follows and favorites! And thank you to everyone who reviews. It keeps me motivated and I really appreciate the support and am glad you guys are enjoying my story!**

 **Please excuse any mistakes you may come across.**

 **Happy reading!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter eleven**

"Christian—"

"Don't," he snapped, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. "I don't want to hear it."

Ana stared at him for a moment before sighing and looking away. She knew he was upset, and she understood why, she just wished he wasn't _so_ upset. She looked out the window of his Audi Q5; he didn't really give her or Elsa much of a choice of driving back in the rental Ana was using as they were leaving his parents' house. She glanced in the right rearview mirror and saw his personal body guard trailing behind them. She thought it quite odd that he would even need a body guard but she wasn't going to question him on it, especially not now.

"Um, where are we going?" Elsa asked from the back seat, looking at Ana with wide eyes.

"Back to grandma and grandpa's, sweetheart," Ana said, reaching back to grab her daughter's knee and squeeze it reassuringly.

"No. I want you guys to come back to mine," Christian said, not even bothering to look away from the road.

Ana looked forward and stared at him. "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea, Christian," Ana said cautiously.

"Why not?" he asked turning to look at her with a frown.

"Well, for starters we don't have a change of clothes with us and I feel like you're not in the mood for company."

Christian let out a loud huff of breath and rolled his eyes. "I can have Taylor get you a change of clothes, and you may be company, but you're first and foremost family." He looked at her and reached for her hand, threading his fingers in between hers. "I want you to stay over, both of you—if you want. I mean if you really want to go home I can—"

"No! Let's go over to your place," Elsa said from the back seat, leaning forward so her head was wedged in between the driver and front passenger seat. "Plus I get to spend my birthday with both of my parents—that's not something I've ever been able to do before," Elsa commented quietly.

Christian glanced at Ana before looking at Elsa in the rearview mirror. "This may be the first birthday I'm getting to spend with you, but I promise it won't be the last."

Elsa slowly grinned at him. Christian looked forward at the road, a smile settling on his face. He relaxed in his seat, the anger and frustration he felt earlier slowly ebbing away. This is what he needed, the calm and contentment his family brings him. That word rattled around in his head. He never pictured himself as a father, at least not so suddenly, but the more he thought about sharing every moment possible with his daughter, the more anxious he felt to get to know her better.

He looked over at Ana, finding her gaze already settled on him. Her mouth slowly stretched into a wide smile. "Thank you," she mouthed at him. He frowned wondering exactly what she was thanking him for. She gestured silently toward Elsa. Christian caught the hint and nodded with an easy smile. He reached over and grabbed her hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze. He didn't let go until the got to the entrance of his apartment building and parked in the underground garage.

He led Elsa and Ana toward the elevator, nodding his head to Taylor as he took the service elevator up. As the doors closed Ana grabbed Elsa's hand just as she reached out to touch one of the buttons.

Elsa looked up at her mother with an irked frown. "Don't look at me like that, young lady. I know exactly what you were about to do."

Elsa sighed and rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, "You never let me have any fun."

"My definition of fun is not having an elevator stop at every floor."

"Oh, I'm sure I can guess what your definition of fun is," Elsa murmured, giving both Christian and Ana a mocking look.

"Excuse me? What's with the attitude? Are you getting ready to start your period?"

"Mom!" Elsa groaned, her eyes widening and her face turning a bright red.

Christian laughed quietly at her expression and her embarrassment. He found it endearing she was shy to talk about her body in front of him.

"Oh, so it's okay for you to make sarcastic comments about me and your father having sex but I can't mention your period?" Ana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One, gross. I don't want to hear about you two actually, you know. And two, it's different when you're referring to me." Elsa frowned at her mother, actively avoiding her father's gaze.

Ana shook her head and sighed. "Whatever you say, sweetheart."

Before anyone could say anything more, the elevator doors slid open. Christian stepped out first into his foyer, guiding the girls out. Christian smiled down at his daughter as she looked around his place with wide eyes and a childish aura about her that made his smile grow wider.

"Oh my God! Look at the view from up here!" Elsa exclaimed, running over to the floor to ceiling windows and looking out at the Seattle skyline. "It's so pretty. The lights look like diamonds sparkling on a black carpet."

Christian and Ana both grinned at Elsa's enthusiasm as Christian lead Ana to the kitchen. "Would you like a glass of wine?" Christian asked.

"Sure," Ana said, shyly smiling at him as she put her purse on the table. She noticed Christian placed a bundled stack of letters down next to her purse. She was tempted to reach out and open one, but restrained the urge and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"I'd like one too!" Elsa said from the far side of the living room.

Christian laughed. "Nice try. But I do have non-alcoholic drinks in the fridge. Help yourself."

Elsa giggled and thanked him as she dashed to the fridge and touched everything within her reach. Ana watched her for a moment and then turned to Christian with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about her. She's acting as if she's never seen food." She laughed softly, shaking her head again and pushing her hair away from her face.

Christian walked closer to her, glasses of champagne in both hands. He handed one to her, a soft smile on his face with glittering eyes. "It's okay," he said with a shrug, taking a sip of his chilled wine. He glanced over at his daughter, watching as she pulled multiple things out of the fridge and tossed them on the counter. He looked back at Ana with laughing eyes. "She reminds me so much of you. Always eager to discover something new."

Ana chuckled softly, her nose crinkling as her eyes glowed. "I will admit I am guilty of passing down that trait, though I go back and forth if that's a good or bad thing."

Christian moved closer to her, reaching up to tuck the same strand of hair that always seems to find its way loose behind her ear. "It's definitely a good thing. Everything you have given her is a good thing," he whispered.

His hand moved down to her cheek, his fingers gently grazing her skin. Ana leaned into his touch and reached up to wrap her fingers around his wrist. They gazed into each other's eyes, Ana's breathing becoming shallow as Christian leaned in closer to her. He took both of their glasses of wine and set them on the counter before he placed both hands on either side of Ana's face, slowly bringing his face closer to hers. Neither one of them noticed Elsa wander out of the room with a bottle of juice in her hand and a mischievous grin on her face.

"Christian . . ." Ana whispered, her eyes slowly starting to flutter close. "I've missed you," she breathed quietly just as Christian's lips brushed against hers.

Christian slowly added pressure until he felt Ana lean in closer. He parted his lips, letting his mouth move instinctively over hers. The sound of Ana's moan reached his ears and the sound turned him on further. He moved his hand to her lower back and dug his fingers into her flesh, pushing her into his growing erection as he buried his other hand into her hair and angled her head so his tongue could fully enter her mouth. She met his tongue with equal fervor, moving her arms to his shoulders and burying her fingers in his hair and pulling roughly at his roots. She moved her arm down his shoulder, letting it drift down his side and wrapped it around his back, lazily letting her fingers find his firm derriere.

Christian deepened the kiss further, loving the feeling of her body pressed against his after so long of being apart. He let his hands roam all over her body, allowing all of his senses to be overwhelmed by her touch, her smell, her taste, the way she sounded; all of it drove him wild and he didn't want to ever have to let her go again. He began walking forward, pushing Ana backward so she was pressed up against the cabinets behind them. His hands moved down to her thighs, his fingers sneaking under the hem of her dress just as he broke away from her mouth and began kissing down her neck.

Ana leaned her head back and closed her eyes, loving the feel of his lips on her skin, loving the way he touched her and made her feel like she was the most important thing in his life. She shivered in anticipation as she felt his hands move further up her thigh, but she was thrown sharply back into reality when she heard a feminine throat being cleared. Ana and Christian sprang apart, both of them a little embarrassed that their daughter had caught them acting like hormone raged teenagers.

Ana smoothed down her dress and patted her hair as Christian straightened his tie and awkwardly cleared his throat. Elsa looked at them with a raised brow and folded her arms across her chest.

"What a great early birthday present. I get a front row seat to the reenactment of the night I was conceived," Elsa said, her tone filled with sarcasm and a little bit of humor.

Ana sighed loud and long, and then looked at her daughter, her lips thin and her irritation clear in her eyes. "I don't know where this sarcastic attitude of yours has come from, but I'm getting sick and tired of it, Elsa. I've told you over and over again to watch your words carefully and yet you continue to ignore me. If it happens again you can say goodbye to your cell phone for a month." She softened her tone and her frown a little as she added, "Your father and I apologize for being so . . . careless with our affection, but that does not give you the right to use such a disrespectful tone with us."

Elsa hung her head low and kept her eyes downward as her mother reprimanded her. Looking up with chastened expression, she said, "I'm sorry. " She looked at both her parents and Christian could see the contriteness in her eyes.

He reached over and placed a hand on Ana's shoulder, making her turn and look at him. "It's been a long night, and Elsa's probably tired, hence her attitude." He winked at his daughter, in a way letting her off the hook with her mother. She grinned at him, her eyes glittering, but changed her expression back to one of repentance when Ana turned and glanced back at her. "I have one of the rooms prepared for you upstairs, Elsa. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it."

Elsa perked up, her eyes slightly squinted in suspicion as she stared at Christian. "What's in there?"

Christian smiled at her. "You'll have to see for yourself," he said, his grin broadening as he saw the curiosity glow in her eyes. "It's the first room to your left when you reach the second floor."

Elsa hesitated and turned to look at her mother. Ana slowly nodded her head and watched as Elsa dashed up the stairs to find her surprise. She then turned around to face Christian, her expression slightly guarded. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

Christian slightly frowned, taking a step closer toward her. "What do you mean? Is what a good idea?"

"Us. Being here. I don't want to rush anything, and I know Elsa adores you already but I don't want to constantly bombard her with your presence. I feel like she gradually needs to get used to you."

Christian moved another step closer to her. He slowly reached up and caressed her with his fingertips, watching her reaction as she leaned into his touch and looked up at him with her pretty blue eyes that stared at him with lust and apprehension.

"It's just one night, Ana. Not one year. Plus, I'd like to spend all day with Elsa tomorrow . . . and honestly it would be nice to wake up and eat breakfast with you. And our daughter," he added, smiling down at her.

She looked at his lips, wishing he would kiss her again before she looked back into his eyes. She nodded her head and said, "Okay. But I don't think it would be the best idea if we shared a room, you know, if that was your plan." She bit her lip and then ran her tongue over it as she waited for his response.

He closed his eyes and let his head fall forward a bit as he tried to control his emotions at the sight of her tongue and the way she bit her lip. It was almost bizarre to Christian how such an insignificant movement can arouse him so swiftly. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, trying to remember what the last thing she had said was.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever you want, baby." Christian caught the look Ana was giving him and his face fell. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, wondering if he said something that upset her. She was looking at him with wide, starry eyes, her head tilted to the side. She looked as if she was about to cry.

She took a step back, shaking her head, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She gave him a small smile. "Um, we should probably see what Ellie is doing. I've learned that when she is too quiet for long periods of time, she's usually doing something she shouldn't be."

Christian chuckled as he began leading her further up the stairs, forgetting for the moment all about the letters on the counter and the earlier debacle with his family. He was grateful for Ana and Elsa; they could so easily change his sour mood to a more agreeable one. But he figured that had more to do with Ana's touch than anything else.

"It sounds like you had your hands full with her, but I'm sure every day was never boring with her around."

Ana smiled, her eyes glazing as she silently reminisced about the times when Elsa was younger and she could have sworn she found one or two gray hairs due to her daughter's mischievous antics. "Yeah, she definitely kept me busy," Ana said with a soft chuckle.

They arrived at Elsa's room and Ana gasped when she caught sight of the interior. The room was painted a dark gray with white and teal accessories. Elsa's bed was to the right of them and was built on a platform that had drawers built into it, and on the same platform to the left of the bed were three steps that led to a vanity with a large rectangular mirror and lights on the outer edges. The wall adjacent to the bed were floor to ceiling widows covered in teal sheer curtains that hung to the floor, there were two doors covered by same sheer teal curtains that opened up to the balcony. Heavy dark gray curtains were pulled back at the opposite corners of the room to let in natural sunlight. To the left of them was a modern white, marble fireplace flanked by two white floor to ceiling book shelves that had all sorts of trinkets and picture frames on the shelves. A large plasma screen TV hung above the fireplace, and hanging from the hexagonal indented ceiling was a medium sized crystal ball chandelier that looked like little flower petals surrounding each light. Halogen recessed lighting lit up the rest of the room, surrounding the outside of the hexagonal indentation in the ceiling.

Ana noticed Elsa lying on the bed with a teal and white chevron duvet, with teal and gray circular throw pillows. She swiveled to face Christian with a surprised, awed expression. "How . . .? When . . .?" Ana struggled to form a coherent sentence as her eyes took in the room once again.

Elsa finally noticed them in the doorway and jumped up to meet them in the middle of the room. She buried her toes in the large dark gray rug as she bounced on her feet. Christian turned her way and felt his chest expand when he caught the look his daughter was giving him. It was filled with gratitude, awe and something else he couldn't quite decipher.

"Do you like it?" he asked her.

She let out a very girlish giggle that almost could've sounded like a giddy snort. "Are you kidding me? This place is amazing! I love it! And how did you know teal was my favorite color? By the way, the color scheme is amazing. And the fireplace! Oh my God the fireplace! I was just texting everyone I know and sending them pictures of how perfect this room is!"

Christian could tell by the way she was rambling about every detail and how she touched everything as if it were about to disappear, that she more than liked it. He grinned with pride and satisfaction that he made her happy. He turned to look at Ana and found her watching their daughter with a warm expression, yet there was an underlying look on her face that worried him.

He looked back at Elsa and said, "I'm going to show your mother the rest of the house, but we'll be back soon." He doubted she even heard him as she started talking on the phone and squealed loudly to whomever was on the other end.

Pulling Ana out of the room he asked, "Did you not like her room?"

She looked at him, her expression once again guarded. "Yes, of course I like it, it's quite beautiful . . . I just—" she paused and looked away from his gaze.

"It's just what?" he prodded.

She hesitated. "I know you're wealthy and I know you're going to spoil her no matter what, but I just—I would like you to, you know, limit the material things you get her. I've tried to raise Elsa to be humble and appreciate the things money can't buy, and I don't want her to be blinded by the things wealth can bring."

Christian sighed and was about to say something, but Taylor interrupted him.

"Mr. Grey?" Christian turned around and raised a brow, waiting for an explanation for the interruption. "You have a guest coming up in the elevator."

Christian frowned and looked at his watch, noticing it was almost a quarter to midnight. "At this time of night?" he remarked, his frown deepening. "Who is it?" he asked, already making his way downstairs, pulling Ana behind him.

He caught Taylor's quick grimace and knew if he blinked he would have missed it. "Elena Lincoln, sir."

"What?" Christian about yelled.

Ana swung her head to face him as they stood in front of the glass foyer doors. "You told me you broke it off with her." Her voice was accusatory and she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at Christian.

He glanced down at her. "I did," he answered on a sigh. "I don't know why she's here, but I have a hunch."

Ana's frown didn't fade and her stance only became more rigid as she waited beside Christian for his ex to step out of the elevator. She was wondering if this night was going to end in a disaster, and who exactly would be suffering from it. She had a hunch it would be her.

 **I know it's been a while, but I want you guys to know I will not give up on this story. Your encouragement means the world to me and is what keeps me coming back. Thank you for the follows, favorites and all of the entertaining and encouraging reviews. It's always a delight to read your guys thoughts.**

 **Happy reading!**

 **P.S. I'm thinking of changing the title. It just doesn't feel right. I'll be sure to let you guys know beforehand so you don't think I've deleted the story.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

The elevator doors opened and Elena strutted in, her head held high in confidence and her mouth set in a determined pout. Her steps faltered when she spotted Christian and Ana standing together in the foyer. She came to an abrupt stop, her eyes shifting between Christian and Ana before an ill-concealed frown turned her lips down.

Elena cleared her throat and looked at Christian, completely ignoring Ana. She batted her eyelashes innocently and pulled her lips into a wide smile, as she said, "I'm sorry, I would have called if I'd known you had company, Christian."

Christian leveled a glare at her, his expression stern as he stared her in the eye. "You should have called regardless, especially considering the time."

Elena's spine stiffened. "Well, I never had to call before."

"That was before I told you you no longer had a place in my life."

Elena's nostrils flared, her eyes quickly darting to Ana before she looked back at Christian. She reached up to smooth down her hair as if one strand was out of place in her perfectly straightened hairstyle. "I apologize, Christian, for not calling but I was just coming to drop something off." She dug around in her overly large shoulder bag and pulled out a picture frame. She handed it to Christian with a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth, slyly glancing Ana's way.

Christian tensed when he looked down at the ornately decorated picture frame. He and Elena were captured at a charity event held at the Fairmont. It was set outdoors, circular tables covered in pristine white cloths were placed around an open dance floor with string lights twinkling in the dark orange and pink streaked sky. Christian and Elena were the only two on the dancefloor. Christian was holding Elena close, his head held back in laughter as Elena stared up at him in awe, her silvery silk ball gown floating gracefully about her feet. Christian remembered that night clearly; the charity event was in honor of women and children struggling to get out of abusive households. It was a successful night in terms of the charity. Christian wasn't sure how he ended up dancing with Elena though; he didn't even remember what he was laughing at or who took the photo.

He was scowling as he looked up at Elena. She was staring at him hopefully. "Why are you giving me this?" Christian asked.

Ana tried to lean over to see what the picture was of but Christian kept the photo out of her line of sight. She stood next to him, feeling as if she was intruding on a private moment, but too curious to leave. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do, but she knew for certain Elena wasn't going to let Christian go without a fight. That much was obvious by the set of her mouth and the determination in her snake-like eyes. Ana was feeling her defenses rise, wondering what Christian was going to do.

Elena shrugged, slowly pushing her hair out of her face, the diamond rings on her fingers glistening in the dimmed lighting. "I just wanted to give you something to remind you of me, you know, to remember the good times. I remember that night just like it was yesterday, that was the first night we made love and—"

"Did you come here with the intention of seducing me, Elena?" Christian asked, his tone appalled, his expression angry and disgusted. His frown was so severe Ana was sure he could light a match on fire just by looking at it. "Because it's not going to work." He pulled Ana closer to him, his right arm pulling her closer against the side of his body. "I'm with Ana now and you're desperate attempt to give me this photo to remind me of a night I don't even remember sharing with you is pathetic, and not something I expected from someone who prides herself on appearing so classy and self-assured." He tossed the picture back at her, his frown still intact. Elena caught the photo with both hands, a look of hostile indignation on her face. "Go home, Elena, and don't come back. This is the last time I'll warn you or I'll sell a tell-all to every news outlet in the U.S., making sure to depict you as the manipulative bitch you really are."

Elena's face was beet red, her nostrils so flared Ana thought they were going to fly off her face. The innocent look she was trying to manage had completely dissolved, and in its place was a slithering snake who looked like she was ready to spit venom at anyone who crossed her path.

Her gaze settled on Ana, her ice cold, hollow blue eyes staring at her with nothing but loathing and jealousy. "You think you're so special don't you, you little whore? Well guess what, Christian was mine first, and when he realizes that I was the best thing that ever happened to him he'll come running back to me! You're just a mousy, ugly gold digger, and there is no way you'll ever be able to satisfy a man like Christian for a certain amount of time."

Elena looked pleased with her spiteful words, but her anger increased when Ana didn't even so much as blink at her spirited tirade.

"Clearly I'm not the one who wasn't able to satisfy him for a certain amount of time," Ana quipped, her tone light and her body relaxed. Of course she was insulted by Elena's words, but when she looked at the big picture she actually felt bad for the woman. A man she wanted no longer wanted her, and no matter what, no one liked to feel rejected. And being rejected by Christian Grey had to be a hard pill to swallow.

Elena took a step forward a long bony finger pointed at Ana. Christian's gripped tightened around Ana as he tried to pull her away from Elena's wrath.

"You think you can just waltz back into his life the like the irrelevant nobody you are? Well guess what, you and that bastard child of yours better not get too comfortable. You'll never be more than trailer trash looking for a hand out. You and that tramp you call a daughter will never be able to survive in his world," Elena sneered, her eyes glowing with her contempt.

Ana would have let it fly if she had just kept her insults limited to herself, but the moment Elena mentioned Elsa, Ana was ready to rip every strand of hair out of Elena's self-absorbed head and gouge her eyes out with a knife.

Slapping Elena's blood red finger out her face, Ana stepped forward, shrugging Christian's arm away from her shoulder and standing to her full height in front of Elena. Her shoulders were firmly set, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. She glared daggers at Elena, her mouth set in such an angry frown her lips looked like they disappeared.

"You can say whatever you want about me. And though I understand why you're upset, don't ever make the mistake of saying another insult about my daughter ever again. You may think you can walk over people with those long, spidery legs, but do you know what happens to spiders when they stumble into the wrong web? They get trapped." Ana stared at Elena, letting her threat sink in. "I don't think you want to know what happens after they get trapped."

Elena and Ana stared at each other, both seething in anger for different reasons, both looking ready to commit some bodily harm. Christian intervened before things escalated further. He pulled Ana closer to him and glared at Elena.

"I think you've overstayed your welcome, Miss Lincoln. Taylor?" Taylor appeared from thin air, his hands folded in front of him, ready to escort Elena out. "Please see Elena out, and make sure Bruce knows she is no longer welcome here."

Elena stood where she was, her chest heaving in anger as she glared at Christian. When Taylor realized she wasn't going to move, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm. Elena snatched her body out of Taylor's reach and took a step toward Christian.

"You're making the greatest mistake of your life, Christian Grey."

Without another word she turned on her heel, stalking toward the elevator the same way she exited it: head held high and a determined set of her mouth. All three of them stood at the threshold of the foyer and watched as the elevator doors closed on Elena's seething fury. When she was completely out of sight Taylor nodded to Christian and Ana and took his leave.

Christian called him back before he could fully disappear into his office again. "Taylor? I don't think I've properly introduced you two," Christian stated when Taylor came to stand in front of them again. "Ana this is Jason Taylor, my close protection officer and right hand man. Taylor this is Anastasia Steele, the mother of my child and first love. I'm sure Elsa will be making an appearance soon and you will be more acquainted with her."

Taylor nodded his head and held his hand out for Ana to shake. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am," Taylor said in his usual deep, no nonsense voice.

"Please, call me Ana, and it's a pleasure meeting you too, Taylor." Ana shook his hand and gave him a smile. She gazed at him as his eyes shifted back over to Christian and automatically felt a protective aura about him. He looked like a trustworthy man and Ana was glad Christian had someone like Taylor looking out for him.

Once Taylor exited the room, Christian and Ana stood in the foyer, not really sure what to do or say after the debacle that just occurred. Christian blew out a long breath and ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, that was a great way to end the evening," he muttered, a low chuckle escaping.

Ana pursed her lips and silently nodded her head. She avoided his gaze as she said, "I think I'm going to check on Ellie."

She began to walk away but Christian caught her by the arm before she could make it further across the room.

"Whoa, Ana, wait," he breathed, pulling her back toward him. He looked down into her eyes when she was standing in front of him again. He couldn't resist reaching up and brushing a strand of hair out of her face as she gazed up at him with those blue eyes of hers that never failed to make his heart beat fast.

"What?" Ana asked when Christian only stared down at her, his fingertips still resting against the side of her face.

Christian peered down into her eyes. "You know I would never jeopardize what we have, right?" he asked, his eyes practically pleading with her to agree with him. "I told you what I want, I'm not going to give that up for anything."

Ana reached up and pulled his hand away from her face, squeezing his hand before she let go. She looked up at him with a small smile. "I know."

With that she turned and walked away from him. Christian's eyes followed her as she climbed up the stairs and disappeared around the corner. He ran his fingers through his hair, his shoulders slumping forward as he tried to assess Ana's mood. Had he just unintentionally ruined his chances with her? He thought the idea absurd considering he didn't invite Elena over, but who knew how women's minds worked. They were piqued by some of the strangest things that Christian would never understand. He just hoped that Ana understood that he meant what he said. He would fight with every ounce of blood in his body to make a relationship work between them.

Sighing again, he turned away from the stairs intending to go to his bedroom and wash the day away off his body, but the letters sitting atop his counter caught his eye. He slowly walked toward the stack of bound letters and picked them up. He put his thumb on the short edge of the letters and ran it down, the paper making a slapping sound as the wind the letters generated displaced a few strands of his hair. He took a moment to just stare at years of lost time hidden within multicolored envelopes. He felt his heartrate increase as he thought of meeting his daughter through the written perspective of a sixteen year old Ana. Taking a deep breath, he held the letters close to his body and started in the direction of his office.

He felt as if he was on autopilot as he silently walked into what he thought of as his safe haven and plopped down into his seat. The letters fell on top of his desk with a muted thud. He stared at them with apprehension, wanting to read every single one of them, yet feeling hesitant to do so. He wasn't sure how he was going to feel once he started reading the first letter of years past, and the significance each one held. Would he feel guilty for reading about Ana during a time she needed him most but he wasn't there? Would he feel resentment that he only had the chance to read about his daughter's growth and development? Jealously because Ana was able to watch Else grow into the beautiful young woman she was? Or would he become angry all over again and feel contempt toward his little sister for taking every single one of those opportunities away from him?

With shaky hands he untied the black ribbon that held all of the letters together. He watched as the letters toppled out of the neat stack and spread across his desk in front of him. Not knowing if the letters were in any certain order, he grabbed a random light blue envelope from the pile and gently, slowly opened it.

He unfolded the evenly folded notebook paper and came face to face with Ana's print from fifteen years ago. His breathing stopped and he could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat as he started reading.

 _October 7, 1998_

 _Christian,_

 _Baby Steele-Grey is now 12 weeks and the about the size of a lime from what I'm told by the doctor. I haven't felt the baby move yet, and honestly I'm a little scared. Feeling him or her move would make it all the more real. It's still a little hard to believe I'm going to be a mother, but I don't think I could imagine my life now without thinking as myself as a mom now that I am one, or at least soon to be._

 _I remember talking to you about our future. I remember the nights we spent telling each other about our wishes and dreams. I remember you telling me how you wanted at least four kids, two boys and two girls. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined you'd be getting either a boy or girl so soon._

 _I really miss you, Christian. I wish you were here. I wish you would respond to my letters. I understand that you may not want to be a father right now, but don't you think I at least deserve to know how you really feel instead of leaving me guessing?_

 _It's really hard not to be angry at you when you've abandoned me with a child I'm not ready for. My mother looks at me as if I'm a different person, and my father has a hard time looking at me period. I've cried myself to sleep so many nights since I found out I'm pregnant that I don't even know if I have any water left in my body._

 _It's been really hard, Christian. I don't have any friends here. Not yet at least, but I'm sure once my belly gets bigger people are going to start looking at me like I'm a circus freak._

 _This letter is terrible and all over the place, but I can't seem to keep a single thought straight in my mind long enough to write it down. I've been so emotional too, and hungry, but at least the morning sickness has thankfully passed._

 _I'm getting tired so I think it's time for my nap. Hopefully I'll hear from you soon, Christian._

 _The baby and I love you._

 _Ana x_

Christian read the letter three more times before he folded it up again and stuffed it back into the envelope. Feeling a desperate pressure building in his chest, he reached for another letter and opened it less delicately than the first. He pulled out the letter, feeling the thickness of two sheets of paper and unfolded them. A small square paper fell out from the folds, catching his attention. He placed the letter down on his desk and picked up the slightly thick, shiny looking paper. He held it up to his face and stared at the picture in a daze. It was an ultrasound photo. He looked at the date and guessed it was the first picture of Elsa in the womb. He ran his thumb over the glossy photo, feeling an emotion he'd never felt before settle heavy in his chest and constrict his throat.

He stared at the white blob in the middle of a black space surround by a white and black static-like triangle. He gazed at the thing in the middle, thinking it looked similar shaped to a little peanut. A smile pulled at his lips, then just as quickly disappeared as he ran his thumb over the picture once again. He felt like he was just learning he had a child even though she was sitting up in a room he personally designed with her in mind. He was in awe, he couldn't believe that this tiny little dot was his fifteen year old daughter. He rubbed his thumb over the picture for a third time before he picked up Ana's note, keeping the picture in his hand as he began to read.

 _August 29, 1998_

 _Dear Christian,_

 _It's been a while since I've last seen you, and I'm missing you like crazy, now more than ever. First I wanted to say that I'm sorry I haven't called. We moved apartments and the house phone we were using belonged to our landlord. I guess my mother never thought it would be useful to buy a phone of her own, though I guess that's beside the point. I would have called you from one of the public phones, but I stupidly forgot your number. Thankfully I remembered your address, which I assume is due to the fact that my father is your neighbor._

 _Anyway, I might as well get to the big news and the picture I assume you have already seen. I'm seven weeks pregnant, Christian. I don't know how it happened, we were careful. Maybe one of the condoms broke? I don't know what happened, but I'm not terminating the pregnancy. I won't give him or her up for adoption either. I never imagined I would be having a baby this young, but that's what I'm doing. I'm going to have this baby._

 _I won't pressure you to be an active participant, you know considering the distance and all, but I'd really like for you to know our baby. I want us to be a family. I know we had plans, and I know they've changed now with the baby, but I think we can somehow make it work. Maybe I can persuade my mom to move back to Washington and stay. Or maybe I can just move in permanently with my dad._

 _Ray still doesn't know yet, and I'd appreciate it if you don't tell him either. I want to tell him. I don't know how I'll tell him, but he'll be even more disappointed if he hears the news from someone other than me._

 _Honestly, I'm still in a daze. My mom and I just left the doctor's office not too long ago, and I'm still not sure exactly how I feel about it. I should have realized earlier something wasn't right. I'd been throwing up almost everything I ate, I'm sleepier than usual, and a few ago I started crying when I saw a bird eat a worm. I hadn't even notice that I missed my period until my mom and I were at the drugstore and walked past the pads and tampons. I bought a pregnancy test once I realized I was late. I wasn't going to tell my mom, but she walked in on me holding the positive test, and well, let's just say she's having a harder time with it than I am._

 _I wish you were here with me. It would be so easier to adjust if I had your physical support. It was tense with my mom when the doctor stuck that probe thing inside of me to see how far along I was. I could feel the tension in the room, and when the doctor pointed to the little speck that will be a living, breathing baby in eight months and two weeks, nothing else mattered. I vowed then and there, no matter what anyone said, I would love and protect our baby with my last breath. Of course I'm terrified and I have no idea what I'm doing, but maybe with you by my side it won't be so hard. Maybe this might be the best thing that could have happened to us, even though the timing isn't the best._

 _I wish you could have been there to see the ultrasound in person, but I hope the picture makes up for it. It's hard to believe such a tiny little dot will turn into our baby. It's going to take some major adjustment getting used to the idea of being a mother, but I know I can do it. And I know you're going to make a wonderful father Christian._

 _I know your parents are going to be just as disappointed as my mom is, but I hope you they will accept the fact that I won't be giving him or her up. Like I said earlier, I would love for you to know our baby, but I'm not going to force you to do so. I don't want anything from you except for your love and time, and if you don't think that's something you can give me, I guess I have no choice but to accept that, though I hope that's not the case._

 _I hope to hear from you soon, Christian._

 _I love you so much,_

 _Ana x_

Christian laid the letter down on the desk after re-reading it for the tenth time. He felt a warm wetness gradually moving down his face and he lifted his hand to wipe it away. He hadn't realized he was crying, and he wasn't able to explain why he was crying. Was it because he missed out on the most important part of his child's development? That Ana was all alone, waiting to hear from him with no response? He knew it wasn't really his fault, but he still felt guilty. He felt like a failure because he wasn't there to help the mother of his child deal with the stress of taking care of a baby. He wasn't there to feel the first kick, hear the first words, watch the first steps. All of that was stolen from him.

His anger was renewed with a new vengeance toward his sister. He didn't think he could ever forgive her for intentionally hiding away such important information from him. Her selfish actions caused him to miss out on his daughters childhood, and that's not something that could ever be replaced.

He clenched his fists on his arm rests, feeling hot tears of anger stream down his face. He could taste the fury and anguish in the salty drops, and he didn't know what he could do to soothe the feelings swirling around like boiling lava in his chest.

A timid knock on the door pulled him from his inner turmoil. He wiped his face on his sleeve before he looked up and said, "What?" His tone was sharper than he intended. He felt like an ass when he saw Ana's head peak out from the edge of the door.

"Hey," she said quietly, looking unsure if she should come all the way in or not. "I was just wondering where I should sleep?"

She was gazing at him with a concerned look, forcing Christian to keep his head down so she wouldn't question why he was crying. "You can sleep in my bed," he said quietly.

He waited a full minute for Ana to respond, and when she didn't he looked up to find her standing a foot away from his desk. Her blue eyes looked even more concerned, but then he watched as her eyes fell to the top of his desk and saw the letters strewn atop it. Her eyes met his again and she asked, "Is that the first one?" Her voice was quiet, almost as if she was trying to keep from anyone hearing her.

Christian nodded his head, his fingers tracing the outline of the ultrasound. "Is Elsa okay?" he asked, not realizing he even asked the question until the words had already left his mouth.

"Yes," Ana answered, her voice still soft. "She fell asleep about twenty minutes ago."

"Did she like the room?"

There was a smile in Ana's voice when she answered. "Yes, she loves it. She was bragging to all of her friends back home how she could stay in the room forever."

Christian nodded, his eyes still on the ultrasound. "Good. I'm glad she liked it. I want her to have whatever her heart desires. Whatever she wants, I want to be the one to get it for her."

Ana frowned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Christian, I already told you I don't want you to spend an exorbitant amount of money on materialistic things. I want Elsa to know the difference between genuine love and things given in place of love."

Christian looked up at her, his eyes red rimmed. "She's my daughter too, is she not? I should be able to buy her whatever I want, Anastasia. It's not just you who can make the decisions anymore."

Ana's arms fell to her side as her mouth fell open. She immediately closed it and scowled at Christian. "I never said she wasn't your daughter, Christian. And I realize that you can also make decisions regarding her well-being, but there's a certain way she's been raised thus far, and I don't think it would be the smartest idea to change it now. She needs stability, not money thrown at her that won't mean anything in the long run."

Christian abruptly stood up and ran his hands through his hair, a heavy sigh escaping his mouth. Ana followed his every move as he placed his hands on his hips and paced behind his desk, his head hanging so low his chin touched his chest. Christian stopped pacing when he stood in front of the floor to ceiling window, staring out in the distance but not really seeing anything.

He noticed Ana's reflection come into view. She placed her hand on his upper arm and stared up at him. He turned, his head still hung low as he gazed into her eyes. Ana reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, wiping the tears away.

The gentle touch was enough to break through Christian's armor. He sank to his knees before her, the tears silently streaming down his face as he rested his head against her belly.

"I'm so sorry," he cried into her shirt. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I'm so sorry you went through it all by yourself, Ana. I'm so sorry."

She ran her fingers through his hair, her eyes filling with tears. "It wasn't your fault, Christian. You didn't know. Don't blame yourself for someone else's actions."

He shook his head, smearing his tears across his face and into her dress. "I should have been there. I should have been able to see her grow up. To see your belly grow with our daughter."

He pulled his face back and moved his hands from around her back and held her by the waist. His thumbs brushed against her lower abdomen as he stared at the place his daughter once called home for nine months.

He looked up at her, his tears coating his eyelashes. "I would have never left your side. I would've rubbed your back, and ran out for midnight cravings. I would have let you break the bones in my hand as you gave birth to our baby girl. All of that was taken away from me and I don't even get a say in the matter. I didn't even get a choice." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead back into her stomach. "I didn't even get the chance to know my own daughter."

Ana put her hands on the side of his face as she said, "Christian, look at me." He leaned his head back, and she moved her hands toward his cheeks, her fingers rubbing the moisture along his stubbly skin as they gazed at each other. "The same opportunities that were taken from you, were taken from Elsa too. If I could go back in time and change things, I would, but I can't. None of us can. I understand you're upset and I don't blame you one bit for feeling the way you do, but there's nothing you can do about the past. We have to look forward to the future and hope for the best." She ran her hands through his hair again, gazing at the beautiful features of his face. Christian leaned into her touch, relishing the feel of her hands on him. "Nothing is stopping you from getting to know your daughter now, and I know she'll love you like she would as if she'd known you since the day she was born. Don't let the past dictate your future, Christian. You have every right to be angry, but don't let that anger keep you from seeing what's really important."

Christian stared up at Ana, his senses overwhelmed by her presence. He felt his anger slowly fade and a calm contentment took its place. With his eyes still on Ana's, he grabbed her hands and kissed each palm. He held her hands in his as he gave her a pleading look and asked, "Stay the night with me, Ana?" When a look of uncertainty passed over her features, he added, "Please? I don't want to be alone tonight."

Gazing into the gray orbs she fell in love with over a decade ago, she nodded her head. "Okay."

Without a word, Christian stood to his feet , one of Ana's hands still clasped in his as he led her to his bedroom. He turned on the light next to the door and pulled Ana further inside, closing the door behind them. He let go of her hand and walked over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of pajama bottoms and two white cotton t-shirts. He tossed one of the shirts at Ana as he took the other one and the pajama bottoms and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Ana took that as her que to change out of her clothes. She quickly stripped out of the dress and bra, leaving her underwear on, and slipped Christina's shirt over her head. The hem reached the middle of her thighs, but she didn't mind the length. She was too tired to care about her attire anyway. She was tempted to wait for Christian before she climbed into his bed, but it was so tempting, she couldn't resist pulling the covers back and sinking into the Egyptian cotton. Once her head touched the pillow she immediately fell into unconsciousness.

Christian opened his bathroom door and found Ana snuggled under his covers. He smiled at the sight, reminiscing about the last time they shared a bed a decade and a half ago. Pulling the covers back, he slid into bed next to her. He cuddled his body up next to hers so his chest was pressed against her back. He leaned over and turned off the light before he settled into a comfortable position. Burying his nose in Ana's hair, he inhaled deeply, pulling her closer up against him. He fell asleep feeling new hope blooming in his chest and a smile on his lips.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's kind of a stepping stone to next chapters, and I hope the emotions weren't too much. Thank you all so much for the support and encouragement, it's really what keeps me posting new chapters.**

 **Thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites it means so much!**

 **By majority vote I guess the name stays the same, which I'm kind of glad because I couldn't come up with a good name to change it to anyway.**

 **Happy reading and those living in the U.S. with me have a happy and safe 4th of July!**


	14. Chapter 13

**I've been getting multiple PMs informing me that this chapter hasn't been loading properly so I deleted the last chapter posted and then reposted this in hopes you guys can read it. Let me know if you guys still can't see it. Thanks!**

 **Chapter thirteen**

Christian woke before Ana did and he had never seen a more appealing sight than he did when he rolled away from the covered windows and came face to face with Ana. Her mouth was opened and her chest was slowly rising and falling under the covers. Her hair looked like a birds nest on top of her head and over her forehead, but Christian thought she was beautiful, and very appealing, even more so with the fact she was sleeping in his bed.

He took a deep breath and he felt his morning erection harden further, which made him become even more aware of the fact that the front of Ana's body was snuggled close to his. Pulling the covers back, he slowly moved to the edge of the bed and shuffled out, making great effort to make sure Ana wasn't disturbed. When he was fully out of bed, he went to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. When he was finished he checked to make sure Ana was still sleeping before he left his bedroom and went to the kitchen.

He frowned when he saw boxes of cereal sitting on the counter, then he realized that Elsa must have woken up already and helped herself to food. He was smirking when he put the boxes back into the cabinets, feeling an odd pleasing feeling that Elsa was comfortable enough to go through his kitchen and get what she wanted. It meant that she was comfortable being in his apartment and comfortable being around him.

He was smiling by the time he remembered it was her birthday, and then started frowning. He would have liked to eat a home cooked breakfast together, but it seems his daughter had already found a way to appease her hunger.

He turned to head to the entertainment room assuming that's where she would be, even though he had yet to give her or Ana a tour of the place, but then he heard her laugh coming from the opposite direction. Frowning, he followed a muffled conversation that led to Taylor's office and slowly pushed the door open to peek inside. He about laughed out loud when he caught Elsa sitting in a leather chair in front of the security monitors with Taylor sitting in the chair next to her. Elsa had the bowl of cereal in one hand as she pointed with her other hand, laughing at something on the TV, her legs curled up under her in the chair. Christian noticed that she was wearing the pajamas and slippers she obviously found in the closet that he had Gail, who he liked to call his house manager, bought and put away.

"Oh no, did you see that!" He heard Elsa say, laughing in between bites of food. "That cat slapped him in the face!"

The sound of her laughter made him smile and he was unconsciously pulled further into the room. Elsa and Taylor both looked up at him surprised, then both changed their expressions once they realized Christian was staring at them. Elsa grinned at him, putting her feet back on the floor, while Taylor looked nervous and uncertain. Christian gazed at both of them, and smiled before walking around the chair placed behind the panel of monitors to see what they were watching.

"It's funny videos that come in the morning. It's the cat edition," Elsa told him as she put another spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

"Hmm, funny," Christian said, not really interested. He looked down at Elsa and caught her staring up at him. She grinned at him when she realized she got caught. "What?" he asked, amused.

She shrugged, resting the bowl on her lap. "It's just weird."

Christian tilted his head to the side. "What's weird?"

"Looking at my father in the flesh."

Christian blinked and frowned, but didn't respond. He wasn't sure what to say, but the feeling he got wasn't one he enjoyed feeling. Shaking it off, he tried to think positive and find a way to bond with her.

"How about we head back into the kitchen and we'll make a nice breakfast? Or maybe I can get Gail to make you birthday pancakes?"

He loved the way her eyes lit up when he mentioned pancakes. "Ooo, yeah! That sounds so good." She stood up with her bowl in hand and began walking out of the room. She suddenly stopped and turned to look at Taylor, her grin still wide. "Thanks for keeping me company, Mr. JT." She giggled as she walked out of the room.

Christian looked at Taylor with a curious expression, watching as he straightened his tie and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Mr. JT?" Christian asked.

"I've been told my initials are the same as Justin Timberlake's, sir."

Christian stared at him for a moment and then held his back in laughter. "That girl is something else, isn't she?" Christian commented shaking his head. "You'll need to add another security detail to the team. Elsa seems to be a little . . ." Christian paused as he tried to find the right word.

"Rambunctious?" Taylor supplied.

"That of many things," Christian replied. He was still shaking his head as he began walking out of the room. "Thanks, Taylor," he added before leaving the room completely.

Christian didn't hear his response if he gave one, he was too busy staring at Ana as she talked to their daughter. Ana was saying something to Elsa, pushing Elsa's long hair over her shoulder when she happened to look up and find Christian gazing at her from across the room. Christian walked closer to his girls and stopped when he stood about a foot away.

He glanced at Elsa before he said to Ana, "I just offered to have Gail make us pancakes," he murmured, staring at Ana as she stood in his shirt but stole one of his boxer briefs. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He liked the way she looked in his clothes, and then suddenly thought how good she would look out of them too.

He was pulled back to attention when Ana said, "I know, Elsa was just telling me about this amazing birthday breakfast, though she didn't expound on who this Gail person was. Do you have a cook?"

Christian lazily shrugged his shoulders and walked around the island. "She's more of a house manager than anything else. She typically cooks, cleans, does laundry, and most recently helped design and purchase things for a certain somebody's room," Christian stated, winking at Elsa before he pulled down a frying pan hanging from above the countertop stove. "Ahh, speak of the devil."

Ana followed Christian's gaze to a woman with strawberry blonde hair pulled into a bun. She was wearing a gray pencil skirt and an ivory silk blouse, her legs and feet clad in dark gray stockings and sensible black kitten heels. Ana stared at the woman, studying her features and concluding she was actually an attractive woman. She placed her age around mid to late forties and looked in good health with a lean frame. For a moment Ana felt threatened that she'd have to compete with this woman for Christian's attention, but when she saw the friendly way Christian and Gail exchanged smiles, she felt foolish for feeling insecure.

Gail turned her attention to Ana and Elsa, just as Christian said, "Gail I'd like you to meet Anastasia Steele and Elsa Grey. Ana, Elsa, this is Gail Jones. She's the reason this place looks as good as it does."

Gail rolled her eyes and laughed, flicking her hand at Christian flippantly before turning to Ana and Elsa. "It's so lovely to finally meet you both. I've heard such amazing things about you two," Gail gushed, shaking both of their hands.

"The pleasures ours," Ana replied, smiling at the woman. Ana thought she seemed nice enough, though she wasn't sure how she really felt about her.

Gail turned her attention to Elsa, a large grin on her face. "Your father has talked non-stop about you, it makes for a nice change other than hearing about his business." Gail winked at Christian. "How did you like your room? Mr. Grey solicited my help in determining if the interior would be to your liking, Miss Grey."

Elsa gaped at the woman with wide eyes. "Miss Grey?" she asked, her tone sounding amused. "I don't think anyone has ever called me that before."

Ana rolled her eyes at her daughter, then turned to Gail. "Please, feel free to call us Ana and Elsa."

Gail smiled at them. "As you wish." She looked back to Christian. "Did I hear something about pancakes?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yes," Elsa injected. "We talked about making birthday pancakes."

Christian suddenly froze at Elsa's comment. In that moment he had just realized that he had never heard Elsa refer to him as 'dad' or even by his first name. He pondered on the reason why, but he came up blank. He didn't know whether to approach Elsa with the issue or mention it to Ana to find out why she won't refer to him as anything other than a pronoun. And he wasn't really certain if he should be bothered by the thought or not.

"I assume it's your birthday then?" Gail asked Elsa, bringing Christian back into reality.

"It is! I'm fifteen today." Elsa was bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement.

Gail chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Well then I guess these pancakes have to be extra special then, won't they? After all you only turn fifteen once."

Elsa followed Gail further into the kitchen, practically hanging onto her every word. "But you only turn every age once," Elsa commented.

Gail began pulling things from the refrigerator. "That's right, but fifteen is special."

"Why?" Elsa asked.

Gail looked down at her with affection in her eyes. Christian wasn't even surprised Gail adored Elsa after so very little time. "Well, it's the last year of true childhood before some grown up responsibilities pile up."

Christian and Ana exchanged looks as Gail went into detail of all the things that Elsa would have to start worrying about once she turned sixteen, the biggest responsibility being a car. Christian smirked at Ana as he motioned to come closer. When she was standing next to him at the threshold of the kitchen, they both looked back to see Gail and Elsa occupied with making breakfast and their conversation. Christian chuckled as he led Ana back to his room. He closed the door when they were both inside.

"Well that didn't take very long," Christian commented.

"What didn't take long?" Ana asked.

"Elsa wrapping Taylor and Gail around her finger."

Ana laughed and nodded. "Yeah, she has a way of making people fall in love with her in a matter of minutes."

Christian stepped closer. "Another thing she has in common with her mother."

She looked up at him, her eyes turning a darker blue. "What?"

"Don't act so shocked, Ana. You know you had me wrapped around your finger the moment I met you." Christian came even closer to her until he was standing only an inch away. He curled his arms around her waist and pulled her body against him, making her gasp low. He leaned down and rubbed his nose against hers before he placed his lips gently against hers. He pulled back and smiled down at her. "Good morning."

Ana practically melted in his arms, loving the way his hands rubbed up and down her back. She smiled back up at him. "Morning," she breathed.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"With you next to me?" She was looking up at him like the idea was outrageous, but then broke into a grin when he raised a brow at her. She laughed. "I slept amazing."

He grinned down at her. "Me too. I actually slept better than I had in a very long time."

She battered her eyelashes at him. "Why do you think that was?"

She started giggling when he gave her a funny look. Christian wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Oh, how I missed that wonderful sound."

"What sound?"

"Your giggle."

Ana slowly pulled back and peered into his eyes. "What else did you miss?" she asked quietly.

Christian continued to run his hands up and down Ana's back. "Hmm, I don't know. There's too many things to name." He smiled down at her with adoration.

Ana rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "What did you miss the most?"

Christian sighed and looked above her head as he thought about his answer. His eyes slowly moved back down to her and his eyes roamed over her face, taking in each curve, angle and edge of her face.

"What I missed the most? I think it's going to have to be those beautiful eyes of yours. I've dreamed about them, and I've seen many women with blue eyes, but none of them compared to yours. They're this shade that I can't describe, but I feel drawn into them. I feel like I can get lost in them forever and be the happiest man."

They gazed at each other, unspoken words passing through their eyes.

Ana was unconsciously gripping his shirt as she stared at his lips in desire. "I think I missed your lips the most," she breathed, reaching up to brush her fingertips against his bottom lip. "I missed the words that rolled past them. I missed the way the stretched into that beautiful smile of yours. I missed the way the made me feel as they brushed against my skin. The way they brushed against my lips and made me weak in the knees. I missed . . . I missed . . ." Ana's words caught in her throat as Christian leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. She was pushed backward at the force of Christian's assault, but regained her balance as she wrapped her arms around his neck and Christian tightened his arms around her waist.

Christian probed at Ana's lips with her tongue, and she opened her mouth without resistance. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue rubbed against hers. The sound seemed to jumpstart Christian's libido and he became a starving man, wanting to drink every last drop of water offered. Lifting Ana's feet off the ground, he carried her over to the bed and rested his hips in between his legs as he continued to ravage her mouth. Ana moaned loud against his mouth when he began grinding his erection against her.

"You gotta be quiet, baby," Christian breathed against her neck, sticking out his tongue to lick the pulsing artery against her skin.

Ana moaned again and writhed under him. "Please, Christian. It's been too long, I want you so bad." She grabbed his face and pulled his lips down onto hers. She stuck her tongue deep into his mouth to taste all of him as she raised her hips to grind with his.

Christian rested his arms on either side above her head as he thrusted his pelvis just at the right angle in between her thighs. Ana held her head back in pleasure, her eyes closed tight as if she was in pain and let out a mangled moan sound in the back of her throat.

"Again," she breathed.

Christian did it again and again, feeling beads of sweat dot his back and forehead as he enjoyed the sight below him. He groaned low when he felt as if he was going to burst at the seams, but Ana distracted him when she suddenly sat up, pulled her clothes off faster than he had ever seen anyone remove clothes, and then reached out to remove his. He caught her hands as she reached for his pajama bottoms.

"Whoa, Ana, maybe we should slow down," he panted.

She shook her head, a desperate gleam in her dark blue eyes. "No. I want you right now." She looked up at him from under her lashes, her face flushed with her desire. "I can feel myself clenching in anticipation for you. I'm craving you," she whispered, grabbing his erection through his pants and squeezing tight.

The moment she touched him all his control deserted him. He pulled down his pants and removed his shirt, and laid his body on top of hers. He kissed all around her face, down her neck and chest. He pulled one nipple into his mouth as one of his hands gently squeezed her other breast. He couldn't resist letting his hand run down her body and letting two fingers to sink into her, feeling the heat and moisture beckoning him to dive in. He groaned in pleasure and anticipation as he pulled his fingers out and then pushed them back in. When Ana dug her fingernails into his shoulders he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Unlatching his mouth from her breast, he leaned over her, pulled her legs up and lined himself at her entrance. He had just pushed his head inside when a pounding sounded from the other side of the door.

"Breakfast is ready!" They heard Elsa call from the other side of the door. There was a short pause before she added, "By the way, I didn't ask for a baby brother or sister as a birthday present!"

Christian moaned and reluctantly pulled out of Ana, letting his head fall in between her neck and shoulder as he supported his body weight on his hands.

"We will never be able to find the time to make any more babies with the girl constantly cock-blocking me," Christian groaned.

He heard Ana giggle under him, and leaned up to look at her. When she really started laughing, he couldn't help but laugh too, though he was silently dying inside.

After they both calmed down and Christian rolled onto his back, throwing his arm over his eyes, Ana sat up and brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and brushing her hair away from her face. She sighed and looked across the room, not really seeing what she was looking at. "Maybe it's for the best."

Christian lifted his arm away from his face and looked up at her. "What?"

Ana sighed again and lay next to him, turning on her side to face him. Christian followed suit, staring into her eyes as she stared back at him. "I just think that it would be best if we just—"

Ana stopped talking when Christian put his finger over her mouth. "Ana, I understand why you think we should take this slow, and I respect that. And I agree that Elsa needs stability and consistency, but how much longer do you think we have to wait, I mean we both want each other. Why prolong the agony? It's not like I'm asking you to marry me or I have the intentions of getting you pregnant right now or that I'm even asking you to move in with me. I just want to share how much you mean to me." He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. "I love you, Anastasia Steele," he whispered against her mouth. "I don't think I ever stopped loving you."

Ana took a deep breath as she stared into sincere, silver-gray eyes. Her lips parted just before she lunged herself at Christian, pulling his face against hers with her hands clasped on either side of his face and meshing their lips together. Ana opened her mouth wider to allow Christian's tongue entrance just as she moved closer to him, pushing Christian onto his back against the bed and straddling him, never removing her lips from his. He ran his hands up and down her spine; one hand settled on one of her ass cheeks and gently squeezed it, making Ana elicit a moan of pleasure. The sound forced Christian back into reality and he opened his eyes, breaking his mouth away from Ana's.

Panting, he said, "We should stop now, Ana, before I lose all control. And I can guarantee if that happens I probably won't stop until tonight."

Ana raised a brow as a smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. "Till tonight, huh? Wow, you must have a lot more stamina than I remember," she said trying to keep a straight face before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

Christian chuckled as he sat up and gave Ana a hooded look. "Oh, trust me, baby. There's a lot of things you probably don't remember." He removed her from his lap and stood up, completely naked, and then leaned down, placing his arms on either side of her thighs. "And I'm going to have a hell of a time reminding you." He smirked at her dumb-struck look, giving her a quick chaste kiss before heading to his closet.

Ana sat on his bed seeming speechless when Christian came back with dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt slung over his arm; he had already on a clean pair of underwear. He laughed when he saw Ana's expression. "Baby, you should probably get dressed and wipe that lost look off your face before our daughter busts in her finding you dazed and naked on my bed."

Ana focused on him and then rolled her eyes, stood up and grabbed their discarded clothes off the floor as she muttered unintelligible things under her breath. Christian only chuckled at her as he watched her move in circles as she looked around the room, assuming she wasn't really even sure what she was looking for.

"Where should I put these?" Ana asked holding up the clothes she and Christian wore to bed. "And I don't have any clothes to wear," she said, almost in a panic.

Christian walked over to her, taking the dirty clothes out of her hands. "I'll take care of these, you should be able to find something in the closet," he said, nodding his head toward the closet doors as he headed to the bathroom.

Ana watched as Christian disappeared into the en suite then turned on her heel and went to the closet. She silently thought about what Christian had told her. She hadn't thought about loving another man since she last saw Christian. Of course she had had a few flings with men during the time she and Christian were apart, but she didn't love any of them. And she wasn't really sure how to feel about Christian still loving her, and she wasn't sure if she still loved him. During the time she was pregnant with Elsa and she was all alone and felt abandoned by Christian and the Grey's, she didn't know if she still felt the same way about him. Of course she still had affection for Christian for the bond they shared and the child they created, but she didn't know how to feel about him at the moment. Other than lust and desire she hadn't considered if she still loved him or not.

And as she opened the closet doors and stepped in she hadn't considered that she would see a section of Christian's closet full of women's clothes. And all in her size. She stared at them for a full minute before stepping out of the closet and closing the doors. Did Christian buy those clothes specifically for her, or were they another's woman's clothes who happened to be the same size that he just kept? She didn't know which scenario offended her more, or which was more realistic. No man had ever given her a full wardrobe of clothes before.

"Something the matter, baby?" Christian asked from behind her.

Ana turned and looked at him, brows furrowed and gestured to the closet. "Soo, um, those clothes in there? The women's clothes?"

When she hesitated Christian took a step closer to her and reached out to hold her around the waist. "Yeah?"

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Did you buy those for me? Or were they an ex-girlfriends?"

Christian took a step back away from her and scowled down at her. "You think I'd give you another woman's clothes?"

Ana blinked up at him. "Well, I mean, I didn't expect you to buy me clothes either. I didn't ask for them."

"I know you didn't, but I thought it would be nice if you'd have clothes here if you ever wanted to spend the night. Elsa has a full closet of clothes too."

Ana sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Christian . . ."

"Ana, come sit down for a minute," Christian said, guiding her to the edge of his bed. After she sat down he crouched down in between her legs and held her hands in his. "You know I respect everything you've done, and I respect your position as the mother of our daughter, but, baby, you need to understand that I have a lot of money and I am going to spend it on you guys. Not in a lavish way, buying things you don't necessarily need, but I just want to provide for you guys in every way I can. And I want you to let me, okay? I admit I may have been a little hasty with my purchases, but next time I'll let you know, alright? I promise."

Ana sighed softly and looked down at their joined hands, rubbing her thumb gently over the back of his hand. Maybe she did make a big deal about the clothes, but she didn't want to drift too far from the person she was before Christian came back into her life. She wanted Elsa to grow up with the same morals she did, and she didn't want Christian's wealth to lead her down a path so many have fallen from. Though, she did think that now Christian was here, she would have to compromise, and neither of them could change the fact he had amassed a fortune. If he wanted to spend a little money on them every once in a while because it made him happy, she didn't think she could really deny him. And he did say that he would ask next time.

She looked back up at him with a small smile. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Christian smiled at her and kissed the back of her hand. "Of course you do. On some things." He winked and then laughed as he stood up and pulled her up closer to him. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her close up against his chest and looked down at her, squinting his eyes in confusion after a moment. "Did you really think I would give you another woman's clothes to wear?"

Ana looked away apologetically. "I'm sorry, Christian. I think seeing all of those clothes overwhelmed me a little. And it was completely unexpected. Will you forgive me?" she asked, looking up at him with wide, contrite eyes.

He gazed down at her for a moment, his face blank, then broke out into a grin and gave her a swift kiss on her lips. "Of course I forgive you. Though, I just realized that we still have yet to learn a lot about each other."

"Yeah, I think you may be right," Ana agreed.

"Yeah . . .Anyway you should get dressed before Elsa comes banging on the door again."

Ana laughed as she made her way over to the closet again. "That wouldn't surprise me. She can be a handful at times," she said as she pulled the closet doors open and began looking for an outfit to wear. "Thank you for this, by the way, even though you didn't have to do it."

Christian came up behind her and watched as she scanned through the outfits hanging on the right side of the closet. "No problem, baby. I like that blue dress." He pointed to a knee length strapless baby blue dress.

Ana took it off the rack and held it up, then reached out and grabbed a light gray cardigan. She turned around and looked at Christian's expression for his approval. He smiled down at her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Looks great, but then again you'd look good in anything." He grinned down at her and kissed her on the mouth. "I'll let you get dressed and meet you out in the living room." With one last kiss on her mouth, Christian turned and left the room, leaving Ana to get ready for the day.

When Ana stepped out of Christian's room, she saw him and Elsa sitting at the breakfast bar; Christian was eating pancakes while Elsa stared up at him in adoration. Ana's heart melted at the sight and she began to wonder that even after all of the time that had passed and all the things she had to do without Christian by her side, if she really ever stopped loving him either. She took a deep breath and put the thought aside for the moment as she approached the duo.

"Mmm, the pancakes smell wonderful. Are those sprinkles in them?" Ana asked taking the seat on the right side of Christian since Elsa was on his left.

"Yes, they're confetti sprinkles Ms. G let me add. She said since it was my birthday I could have whipped cream on mine too."

Ana laughed. "And I take it you covered your pancakes completely in whipped cream and extra confetti sprinkles?"

"I plead the fifth," Elsa replied with a smirk.

Ana and Christian both laughed, and Elsa giggled along with them. "You know, you can't say you plead the fifth while smirking like that. It just makes you seem even guiltier," Christian told her. Elsa only shrugged and took another drink of her orange juice.

"So, what are we doing today?" Elsa asked. "Are we going back to grandma's house?"

Ana raised her brow at her daughter. "Did you want to go back home?"

Elsa shook her head. "No, I meant Grandma Grey, not Grandma Steele. You know, I should really come up with a nickname to keep the two apart. It might get a little confusing. How about for Grandma Grey I call her GG and your mom, Mom, I call grandma like I always have. And for grandpa, um I can call him . . ."

Ana looked over at Christian as Elsa continued going on about what she should call her grandparents, and she caught the way Christian tensed up at the mention of his parents. She knew he was still upset about the lie his sister kept from all of them, and she did understand why he was so upset, but she didn't want that to keep them apart. If Ana learned on thing about having a baby so young it was that family was very important, and even though it can be difficult to forgive them when you're angry at them, there was no way to avoid them forever. And Ana felt the sooner Christian could let go of his anger, the faster they could all move on and enjoy their time together.

"Ellie, babe," Ana cut off her daughter as she continued to ramble on, "I think I saw a game room down the hall with all sorts of things your father bought you. Why don't you go see what they are?"

Elsa's eyes lit up and went wide as she grinned. "For real? Ohhhh, is there Call of Duty? And Grand Theft Auto?"

Christian smiled at her excitement. "Why don't you go and find out."

Elsa squealed as she jumped off the bar stool, hugged Christian and ran down the hall, almost tripping over her own feet. Christian laughed as he looked over at Ana.

"What's a Grand Theft Auto?" Ana asked.

Christian chuckled. "A game you definitely wouldn't let her be playing if you knew what it was."

Ana frowned and scrunched up her nose. "Is it really that bad?"

He rolled his eyes. "You know the good games don't really hold their attention for too long, though I don't know if that's a good or bad thing." He took a sip of water.

"Hmm." Ana hummed, trying to figure out a way to approach Christian with the topic she wanted to discuss. "So, I'm sure your mother would like to see Elsa again, as well as—"

"No," Christian muttered, cutting her off.

"Christian, don't you think—"

"No, I don't think I'm being dramatic about this," he growled standing up and taking both of their plates to the sink. Once he settled them both rather roughly into the sink, he stared out the window, suddenly quiet and pensive. Ana sighed and pursed her lips, wondering how she can get him to see it from a different point of view. "You have no idea how it feels to be betrayed by someone who you thought would never hurt you. I mean, it never crossed my mind that Mia could be so vindictive and manipulative at such a young age."

He slowly turned around, his arms across his chest as he leaned his back against the counter and gazed at Ana. She slowly stood up and walked over to him, mimicking his stance as she faced him.

"You're right I have no idea what it's like to be betrayed like that, but I do know what it feels like to be alone and scared, with who I thought was my family abandoning me on the other side of the world."

"And that's the exact reason why I have no desire to go and see any of those people. They're the reason I missed so much of my daughter's life. They're the reason we're not married with three or four other little kids with a big house overlooking Puget Sound. I don't understand how you're so blasé about this, Ana. If it wasn't for them, our lives would be different right now."

Ana tilted her head and took a step closer to Christian, placing her hands on his folded forearms. "Christian, I really get why you're so angry, but you can't blame your entire family for Mia's mistake. And you can't keep holding a grudge over Mia's head for the rest of your life, either. I'm not saying you have to forgive her right now, but keep in mind that she did what she did because she loved you so much and just wanted to spend more time with you."

He stared down at her, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face after a few moments. "Why aren't you at all angry about this?" Christian asked softly. "Why are you so forgiving of her behavior? She's the reason you felt abandoned and alone. How can you just say it's in the past and move on so freely?"

"Because that's exactly what it is. In the past. None of us can go back and change it. We just have to deal with it, and I'd rather get it dealt and over with sooner rather than later. I spent a lot of time being angry with all of you in the first few years after Elsa was born, but as she got older I realized it was a waste of my time. I needed to just focus on her. Nothing was going to change the fact that I was a teenage single mother, no words could turn back time." She looked up at Christian with clear blue eyes, with a depth of wisdom few other women her age would have. Running her hand down the side of his face, over his stubble and his bottom lip, she whispered, "I just want to be happy. And I want the same for you and our family."

Christian pulled Ana into his arms, surprising her as he wrapped her in a tight grip. She smiled after a moment, loving the feel of his warmth melting into her skin and warming her from the inside out.

"I didn't know how I got so lucky the first day I met you all those years ago, and I'm just as lucky now that I have you back in my life." He looked at her with pure adoration and respect. "I don't think I have ever met a woman so intelligent, honorable or compassionate in my entire my life. Anastasia Steele, I love you."

Before Ana even had the time to think, Christian leaned down and glued his lips to hers, pushing her mouth open with his thumb on her chin and sliding his tongue in through her teeth. Ana all but melted at the sensation of having him so close and she had to hang on tightly to his shoulders to stay upright, otherwise she'd fall to the ground, her knees feeling like jelly.

When they pulled apart, Ana looked into Christian's eyes, and she thought back to how she used to look at him fifteen years prior. She smiled softly at him, and within that moment she realized deep down that things really had changed for her. Before Elsa's and Christian's accidental meeting, Ana wasn't sure how she would feel at seeing Christian again after so long. Would she feel angry? Sad? Betrayed? And then when she saw him in his office, the only thing she really felt was pure happiness. He was her happiness all of those years ago. He was her love. Though she still did love him, it was different. It evolved into something deeper than that. And she knew deep within her heart Christian Grey was the only man she could really ever love.

With a grin and sparkling blue eyes, Ana stared up at Christian and whispered, "I love you, too, Christian Grey."

 **Guys, I just want to take a sincere moment and thank you all for the prayers, support and extremely kind words. It's the worst kind of pain watching someone you've known your entire life slowly die before your eyes, but with the support of friends and family, it's just a little bit more tolerable saying good bye.**

 **You guys are such thoughtful, considerate readers that I thought the best way to show my gratitude was to update. Now mind you, I think with my brain a little cloudy it might not be the best but I'm slowly getting my mojo back.**

 **Either way I hope you guys enjoyed this, and if not I'm sorry. Hopefully by next chapter I'll get back into the flow.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys keep me updating!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

"I'm not sure about this, Ana," Christian said as Taylor pulled up at the Grey family estate. Christian looked at Ana with a hesitant gaze, but she reached over to squeeze his hand.

"It'll be alright." She smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him softly and quickly on the lips. They heard Elsa fake gagging from the third row.

"Geez, can you guys be anymore touchy feely? Justin isn't even that affectionate with me."

Christian stiffened and glared back at his daughter. "Who the hell is Justin?"

"Christian!" Ana chided him, slapping his arm.

"Uh, my boyfriend," Elsa said like it should have been obvious. "I already told you about him."

Christian's nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. He did recall Elsa saying something about a boyfriend, but now the pubescent horny kid had a name. "I want to meet him," Christian said through clenched teeth.

"Fine. Whatever. Can we get out of the car now?"

Ana opened up her door first, and Christian followed, allowing Elsa to come out from his side. She looked up at him as he closed the door, and when he turned she found him staring at him.

"What is it?" Christian asked.

Elsa just grinned at him, shook her head and made her way to the house. Christian frowned after her as he watched her go. Ana came up to his side and grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

Christian shook his head, still a little puzzled over the way Elsa looked at him. "Nothing," he answered, then leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Just wondering how today is going to play out." He sighed as he and Ana followed Elsa to the front door as she waited for them to catch up.

Elsa knocked on the door and after a few seconds the house manager, Gretchen, opened the door, and her surprise was apparent by the drop of her jaw and wide eyes.

"M-Mr. Grey. We weren't expecting you," she stammered.

Christian raised his brow at her. "So does that mean my family and I are not welcomed, then?"

Gretchen's cheeks turned pink as she finally glanced at Elsa and Ana and stepped aside. "Forgive me, Mr. Grey. You're parents are in the sitting room with your brother and sister-in-law, and your sister is up in her room."

Christian frowned at the mention of his sister, but the squeeze of Ana's hand around his settled his nerves a little. He gave her a grateful smile when he looked down at her, glad that she was here with him.

Elsa led the way to the sitting room like she had been in this house a thousand times. When they approached the sitting room she cleared her throat. Christian's parents, Elliot and Kate all turned as one and all wore the same surprised expression as they saw the three of them standing on the threshold of the room. Grace was the first to react.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, coming to stand in front of Elsa and smiling adoringly at her before she looked up at Christian and Ana. "Not that you aren't welcome, but you see, we didn't think . . . well, we didn't think you'd ever want to see us again." Grace was looking at Ana as she told them what the rest of the Grey family was thinking.

Ana frowned at her and cocked her head to the side. "Why would you think that, Grace?" Ana asked with genuine curiosity.

Grace diverted her eyes to Christian for a moment before she looked back at Ana. "Well considering what happened last night—"

"Grace," Ana interrupted her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Despite the drama and secrets, Elsa is your family. I would never keep her away from you. I don't want to be the one who keeps Elsa from knowing her family, neither of us do." Ana grabbed Christian's hand and looked up at him.

Grace smiled affectionately at Ana and took a step to hug her. "Thank you, dear girl." She let her hand gently caress her cheek before she turned to her son and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then turned and smiled at Elsa. "Isn't it someone's birthday today?"

Elsa nodded her head and clasped her hands behind her back. "Yup. I'm fifteen today."

Grace pulled Elsa into her arms and gave her a tight hug. "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

Elsa smiled brightly at Grace. "Thanks, GG."

"GG?" Grace asked with raised brows.

Elsa smiled at her as she nodded her head. "I figured I'd come up with a different name other than grandma to keep things from getting confused."

Grace gently ran her hand down the side of Elsa's cheek as she smiled indulgently at her. "If that makes you happy then I have no problem with it."

Christian watched as the rest of his family got up to hug and wish Elsa a happy birthday. He smiled over the way Elliot ruffled her hair and told her something that made Elsa throw her head back in laughter.

Christian looked down at Ana to see the same smile on her face as his family opened their arms up to Elsa, showing her the same amount of love they'd show her if they knew of her existence before a few days ago.

"How about we go into the kitchen and celebrate. We have some left over cake but maybe I can get your grandfather to go out and fetch a birthday cake for us?" Grace said as she pulled Elsa toward the kitchen.

Elsa willingly followed. "Sounds good, as long as it doesn't have nuts in it since I'm allergic."

"Oh dear, I'll have to remember that in future."

Christian slid his fingers between Ana's as they followed every one into the kitchen, listening as Grace chattered non-stop with Elsa. Everyone gathered around the kitchen island, Elsa the center of attention as everyone asked her questions about her early life, what she wanted to do when she got older, how she was liking Seattle and when she was starting school.

Everyone was so engrossed in Elsa that Christian thought it was the perfect opportunity to have a few moments alone to speak with Ana, sort of a way to get to know each other better and fill in some gaps.

Grasping her hand and squeezing it gently, he leaned into her side and whispered in her ear, "Come take a walk with me."

Ana nodded, standing from the counter with her hand in Christian's as he told everyone he was going to show Ana the grounds.

Leading her away from the house Christian first thought about just taking a walk around Lake Washington, but as the boathouse came into view he thought it would be a good place to talk with little interruptions or distractions.

As Ana realized he was leading her to the boathouse, she gasped and gripped his hand tighter, memories of years past suddenly flooding her mind. Christian opened the door for her, and stepping inside she noticed how things hadn't really changed from the last time she saw it. It was as pretty as she remembered but it still brought a nostalgic feeling to her. Christian grabbed her hand again and led her up the stairs. She suddenly felt more aware of him than she had a moment ago and she couldn't help but feel her skin tingle and her body heat up as she thought about what they did the last time they were in here.

Ana let go of his hand as she went to explore the room, a smile on her face as she looked at the bed and her fingers danced over the dresser. The window on the opposite side over looked the lake and for a moment she felt like she was fifteen again, waiting anxiously for Christian to make her feel sensations she had never been familiar with.

"I thought we could come up here to talk, but now that we're here, all alone, I'm kind of regretting that decision," Christian said, coming up behind her, his fingers gently running up her sides as his breath blew warmly against her skin. "All I can think about was the last time I brought you here, making love to you for the first time."

Ana shivered at his touch and closed her eyes, remembering all the feelings he evoked in her, the way his touch lit up her body. "I remember it too," she breathed, her eyes still closed, her head lulling to the side as Christian began placing soft wet kisses along the curve of her neck.

Christian's hand trailed down the side of her body, his fingertips reaching to the hem of her dress before his fingers slowly trailed up her bare skin, his hand disappearing under her dress.

Ana let out a gasp that sounded something like a moan. She opened her eyes and abruptly turned in his arms, gripping the front of his shirt and staring deeply into his eyes. "Make love to me," she breathed, her lips just grazing his.

Christian didn't need to be told twice and he didn't give it a second thought as he picked her up under her thighs and carried her toward the bed. They both made quick work of undressing, eager and desperate to feel skin against skin as they couldn't keep their hands or mouths off of each other. Ana moaned loud when she felt Christian lick down the column of her neck, one hand grabbing her breast as the other trailed up and down the length of her body. Her hips moved in circles, trying to gain any sort of friction as Christian moved his mouth to her left breast and began to suckle eagerly. Her nails dug into his skin and she felt like she was going to combust if she didn't feel him inside her soon.

She trailed her nails down his back to his taught behind and curled her nails deep into his skin to pull him closer. "Christian. I need you inside me now, please," she whimpered, feeling like she was about to lose her mind if he didn't make love to her soon.

Christian leaned up to take her mouth in a deep kiss as he moved his right hand down her flat abdomen and pressed his finger into the heat of her. She groaned at the contact and lifted her hips as he sunk his fingers deep into her, moving his fingers in a come hither motion. She moaned loud, her face turning a deep red and grabbed his wrist to pull his hand away. He smiled at her jerky movements and leaned up so he could position himself better in between her legs. Placing one arm above her head, he reached down to grab himself and line the tip with Ana's entrance. When he hesitated Ana lifted her hips forcing his erection to enter her. Christian had no choice but to plunge deep into her with a growl once he felt her warm heat surround the tip of him. Once he was fully imbedded in her he lifted his head to look down at her, smiling slightly when he saw her gazing up at him with pure uninhibited passion in her dark blue eyes.

"I've been waiting for this moment for days," he moaned as he slowly pulled out and just as slowly pushed back into her.

Ana moaned, but it sounded like a frustrated sigh. "Christian, please stop talking and move faster," she begged, grinding her hips against him as she held onto his shoulders.

Pulling her legs higher up on his waist, he braced both arms above her head, melding his lips with hers as he began to increase his speed. Ana moaned loud, closing her eyes and arching her back, pushing her breasts into his chest. Christian moved his mouth to her neck, sucking softly on her skin as one of his hand played with her nipples. Ana started to writhe under him, her moans becoming louder as her breathing became erratic and Christian knew she was close. Reaching between them and massaged her clitoris and the added sensation forced her into climax, her body stiffening as she clung to him like a vine. The way she was gripping him and pulling him deeper inside as well as her loud moans tipped Christian over the edge, and with a deep guttural moan, he released everything he had deep inside her.

He continued to slowly thrust in and out of her as he rode out his orgasm before he fully collapsed on top of her, completely sated and out of breath. Ana panted under him, her eyes closed as she reveled in the receding euphoria languidly surging through her body.

After a few silent moments Christian lifted his head to look down at her. "How was that?" he asked, a smug smirk on his face as he took a good look at her relaxed, dazed expression.

She turned her head and opened one eye to look at him, then closed it again. "Like you even had to ask that," she muttered.

Christian laughed and leaned down to kiss her quickly on the mouth. Turning onto his back, he folded his hands his behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. He silently wondered when there could be a repeat performance. Since being with Ana fifteen years ago he had been with other women, but no matter who he was with none of them compared to Ana. Even after all of this time, his feelings were just as strong and his body responded just the same way. Now that he got her back, he knew with absolute certainty there was no way that he would ever be able to let her go again.

When he heard Ana sigh and felt her body slide against his, he couldn't help but look down at her naked form and desire, thick and heavy, brought his body back to life. He had to swallow his groan when she rolled into his side, pressing her bare breasts into his chest and throwing a long, lean leg across his thighs. She laid her arm across his abdomen as she looked up at him.

"What?" he asked, a curios expression raising his brow.

She shook her head and smiled at him. On a long happy sigh she said, "Nothing. Everything is absolutely perfect."

He grinned down at her as he ran his hands along her spine. "I do have to say that was one of the best experiences I've had in over a decade."

A small smile pulled at the corners of Ana's mouth as she traced lazy circles around his bellybutton. "If I didn't have to leave all those years ago, if I just moved in with Ray, what do you think we'd being doing right now? Do you think that we would still be together?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Yes," Christian said without hesitation. He turned and looked into her eyes. "Ana, when I tell you that I love you I mean it. I've never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else. What happened 15 years ago was just a poor draw of luck, but I can guarantee you that if I could have controlled it you would have never left my side. I could also guarantee that if things worked out the way I wanted them to, we would have been married by the time you graduated high school and you'd probably be pregnant with my sixth child right now."

"Six!" Ana gasped in surprise. "You want six kids?" By the look on her face Christian could tell that it was not an idea that appealed to her.

Christian turned more to his side to face her, his large hand caressing the side of her face. "Baby, I'd have twenty kids with you if it was possible, not really because I'd want that many, but because I find it terribly hard to keep my hands off you." He winked and grinned down at her, making Ana giggle and playfully push his shoulder.

"Be serious, Christian. I'll be forty in nine years and I'd really rather not spend three or four years during that time fat and swollen." She looked at him with serious eyes. "How many more kids did you really want?"

"You'd really have more of my babies?" he asked with an expression just as serious.

She quirked a brow and leaned her head back before narrowing her eyes at him. "Did you want another woman to have the honor?"

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant you'd really want to have more kids with _me_?"

She frowned at him. "Of course, why wouldn't I?" He shrugged in response. She didn't appreciate the non-answer. Grabbing his face, she turned his head so he was looking at her and she could read his eyes. "Christian, what gave you the idea that I wouldn't' want to have any more kids with you?"

He ran his hand along her waist as he avoided her gaze. "I thought that maybe you were content with just Elsa. You kept saying how you wanted to settle into things, I didn't know if another or a few more babies were on the table."

Ana smiled sweetly down at Christian, leaning her face closer to his as she kissed him gently. "Christian Grey I'd be more than happy to carry more of your babies, depending on how many more you want, of course."

"How many more would you be willing to have?"

She looked past his shoulder as she thought about her answer. "Maybe two." Ana almost laughed out loud when a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes. "How many would you like, Mr. Grey?"

"At least four more."

"Four! No. I'll settle on a maximum of three more kids."

Christian sighed as he nuzzled his face against her breasts, earning a giggle from her. "Fine. But if we accidently have four, don't blame me."

Ana laughed. "Well you just told me you wanted four more kids, who else am I supposed to blame if it happens?"

"You can blame the monster between my legs. He is the downfall of a lot of things in my life."

She laughed again, and Christian smiled against her skin. "Oh, Mr. Grey, what am I going to do with you?"

"You can love me."

Ana gently ran her fingers through his hair. "Forever and ever, babe."

He tightened his arms around her waist, kissing a path from the valley between her breasts to her mouth. He looked down at her for a few moments to stare in her eyes. "You know, we're sitting here talking about having more babies, but we're not even married."

A look of alarm passed across her face. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

He shook his head. "No. At least not yet."

She scrutinized him through narrowed eyes. Christian sighed before he sat up, pulling Ana up with him and settling her in his lap, her legs straddling his outstretched ones. "Ana, did you really expect me to be satisfied with just being your boyfriend?"

She frowned at him. "Well, no, but I didn't think you'd want to jump right into being husband and wife right away either."

"I never said I did. But I at least like to know that you'd be open to marrying me by the end of the year."

"That's only eight months away, though."

He smirked at her. "I figured the sooner we get married the sooner we can make up for lost time." Ana sighed and tried to lift herself out of his hold, but his grip only tightened. "Look, Ana, I get if this is all a little too sudden—"

"A little?" she said, cutting him off. "Christian, Elsa and I have been back for about a week and already I feel like you have the rest of our lives planned out for us. That's not something we're used to, or something I'm comfortable with you doing. I understand that you love me and want to start a life with me, and trust me I want the same, but if the end goal is the same why do we have to rush it? Why can't we just enjoy our time together?"

"I'm sorry," he murmured slowly. "I didn't realize that I made you feel that way, and believe me, it wasn't intentional, but I want you, Ana. I want to live the rest of my life with you and our daughter and any future children we have. I just want to love you the only way I know how, for the rest of our lives."

She gazed into his eyes as her fingers gently caressed the sides of her face. Slowly, she pressed her lips against his and pulled back, rubbing her nose against his. "Can I at least have the next eight months to settle into our new lives before I consider marrying you?"

"But you will marry me?"

Ana rolled her eyes but giggled and kissed his nose. "Yes, Mr. Grey, I will marry you. But not right now. And I don't want a ring right now either," she added. Christian frowned, making Ana smile in triumph for reading his thoughts so well. "You know even after all of this time, I feel like you haven't changed very much."

Christian quirked a brow. "Is that so Miss Steele? Well, maybe I should show you a few things that have changed."

Ana laughed in delight as he threw her against the bed, his kisses raining down across her face before they settled firmly on her lips. Her giggles quickly subsided as passion burned through her veins, lighting her limbs on fire, and when Christian finally entered her again, she did have to admit that maybe some things have changed.

"We should get up soon," Ana whispered as she tangled her fingers in Christians. She was lying on her back, Christian lying against her, completely and fully sated after a third round of lovemaking. They were facing each other, one of Christian's hands resting under his head as the other one rested between their warm bodies. "I'm surprised we haven't been interrupted the entire time we've been up here," she wondered out loud.

Christian chuckled. "I'm sure my family is keeping Elsa preoccupied."

Ana ran her index finger down the length of his stomach, between his abdominal muscles before she kissed his nose and sat up, scooting out of bed to put her clothes back on. Christian sat up in bed, placing his arms behind his head as he watched her dress, enjoying watching her put on clothes almost as much as he enjoyed taking them off her.

Ana caught his gaze as she slid on her underwear and smirked at him. "See something you like, Mr. Grey?"

Christian gave her a boyish grin and a wink that made Ana's knees wobble. "I sure do, baby."

She picked up his sock off the floor and threw it at him, laughing all the while. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed? It's not like we can stay here all day. You do have to go to work tomorrow."

"Don't you?" he asked, getting out of bed. "Speaking of that, where is it that you work? You never mentioned it."

"It's called Pacific Northwest Publishers House. And starting next week I'll work full time but I don't go in until Wednesday."

"What's your position?"

"Fiction and non-fiction editor and a temporary stand-in PA for the CEO until his usual one returns from maternity leave."

"Which did they hire you in as?"

"The editor, of course, but I was told that with my recommendations and experience they would pay more to fill in as a PA for the time being until the end of July."

Christian was fully dressed and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her comb her fingers in her hair. "How long had you been an editor in England?"

"Mmm, a few years after I graduated college."

"Where did you go to college?"

Ana smirked at Christian through the mirror that was sat upon the chest of dressers adjacent to the bed. "You're very loquacious suddenly," she joked. "I graduated summa cum laude from Durham University in 2004."

Christian's brows shot up. "Highest honors with a child? I'm impressed, Miss Steele, but can't really say I'm surprised."

Ana smiled at him as she pulled the ends of her hair to tighten her ponytail. "Well it wasn't easy, that's for sure. But I wanted to prove to anyone and everyone that although I may have been a teen mother, that did not make me less intelligent or less capable than others who had children after graduating college."

Christian stalked toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his smiling face hovering above hers. "Whether you went to college or not, or rather you graduated summa cum laude or not, you could never be called unintelligent or incapable of anything."

Ana reached on her toes and pressed her lips into his. "Well I'm glad you think so highly of me."

"Always, baby. Now come on, I'm hungry. You wore me out."

Ana laughed as Christian lead her down the stairs and out of the boathouse. As they were heading back to the house, Christian suddenly stopped, making Ana stumble next to him and look up in question.

"Ana, I wasn't wearing a condom."

She blinked a few times before saying, "I'm on birth control. Did I not tell you that?"

"Not that I can recall," Christian murmured. He started walking back to the house, her hand clasped in his a little more tightly.

"You know, I would have thought that would have made you happy if I wasn't."

He looked down his nose at her. "You said you weren't ready, I wouldn't do something intentionally that I know wouldn't make you happy."

Ana didn't respond but had a secret smile on her face. That smile slowly faded as she walked into the house with Christian at her side, and total chaos surrounded them.

 **Sorry it took me so long to get this out to you guys! Thank you for your patience. And thank you for the follows, favorites and reviews. I do read all of them, even if it doesn't seem like I do.**

 **Some of you were asking me where chapter 15 was, but there is not one. The site sent out an email saying chapter fifteen was posted but it was only chapter 13. I reposted it because I was told by some readers they weren't able to view it. It caused a lot of confusion but I hope it's all been solved and all of you can read this chapter.**

 **I'm working on chapter 15 and hope to have that out soon.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Elsa stared at the woman sitting across from her, sitting next to her aunt Mia. She wasn't sure how she felt about her aunt yet, considering the fact that she was the sole reason why she is just now meeting her father and his family, but she definitely knew how she felt about the woman sitting across from her. She was trouble. They were sitting at the kitchen island. Her uncle Elliot, who she adored already, was standing to the right her, his wife Kate next to him. Her grandmother was behind them making a fast lunch while her grandfather sat on the left of Mia.

Her parents went on a walk some time ago and haven't returned. Christian announced that he was showing Ana's the grounds, but Elsa wasn't an idiot. She could see the look in her parents' eyes when they thought no one was looking. She was happy to see her mother happy and she was even more thrilled to finally have a father in her life. She knew of her father, but she didn't think she would ever have the chance to meet him, or if she really wanted to meet him. Her mother never once said anything bad about her father or his family, but Elsa could still see the hesitation in her mother's eyes whenever she asked to just fly out and meet them, meaning that there was still some doubt that they would completely accept Elsa. Obviously there was at least two people in the Grey household that wasn't that receptive to Elsa or Ana, but now Elsa was afraid of another leach trying to squirm her way back into her father's life, potentially forcing her mother out of the picture. Elsa wasn't going to let that happen.

"I heard through the grapevine that Christian finally left Elena," Lily, Mia's best friend, snickered in her nasally voice. Elsa rolled her eyes. It seemed the only thing the woman could talk about was her father. It surprised Elsa that Mia hadn't told her to shut up yet, but by the distracted look on Mia's face it didn't look like she was paying attention anyway. "It's about time he finally left her," Lily griped with an unattractive flip of her hair. "He was way too good for. He needs to find himself a real woman this time around."

Everyone seemed to be ignoring her but it was impossible for Elsa to just sit back and let Lily talk about her father like her mother wasn't even worthy enough to be in the picture. She felt disrespected on behalf of her mother and she felt herself getting angry at her new family, especially Mia, because no one was putting her in her place. How can they let Lily continue to have such delusional fantasies?

"Grace, do you know who he'll be taking the Saving Grace charity event this year?" Lily asked, trying to sound sweet and uninterested, but she came off like a black widow spinning her web, waiting for the moment to trap her prey.

Before Grace could answer, Elsa said, "He'll be taking my mother." She didn't know what Lily was talking about, but she didn't want her to think that there would ever be a chance that she would be anywhere with her father in a more than friendly setting.

Lily blinked and looked at Elsa, staring at her as if she was just noticing her for the first time. Lily laughed and pushed some hair behind her face again as she gazed at Elsa, confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even realize there was someone new here. Who's your mother, darling?" Lily asked. The way she said darling grated on Elsa's nerves and she glared at Lily.

"My father's soul mate," Elsa said, her eyes narrowed dangerously but Lily paid her no attention.

Lily breathed impatiently through her nose and raised a brow. "And who might your father be?"

"Christian Grey," Elsa said, her tone hard.

Lily blinked at her for a beat and then laughed. "Oh, that's hilarious! What a nice little joke, darling, but we all know Christian Grey has no children. He has no time for that. And when he does have the time, I'll be the one who has his babies."

Elsa's eyes widened and this time she laughed, the sound incredulous. "Wow, you are a _really_ dumb-ass bitch."

Lily gasped indignantly just as everyone else stopped talking and stared at Elsa with opened mouths. Mia looked up at Elsa with her mouth hanging open.

"Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that!" Lily screeched at her. She looked over at Mia with enraged eyes. "Mia did you hear what she just called me? Who is she anyway?"

Mia pursed her lips and then let out a long sigh. "Come on, Lily, let's just go. This was a mistake anyway."

"No!" Lily yelled. "I want to see Christian, and I want to put this little _brat_ in her place!" She took a step closer to Elsa and stared at her. Since Elsa was a few inches taller than her, Lily had to lift her head slightly to make eye contact. Elsa reveled in that satisfaction. She had to admit that Lily was attractive with her shoulder length white blond her, hazel eyes and svelte body, but her personality left a lot to be desired. Besides, she wasn't Anastasia Steele, and no one was good enough for her father other than her mother. "Listen here you little snot-nosed shit, I don't what your problem is or what your purpose is, but Christian Grey will be mine and no one, not even a desperate whore like you, will stand in my way!"

Everyone gasped at Lily's words and before anyone can step in in Elsa's defense, Elsa lifted her hand and slapped her so hard Lily stumbled backward. Everyone gasped again and hell broke loose as everyone started yelling at one another. Lily tried to grab at Elsa as Elsa yelled at Lily to stay away from her father. Mia struggled to hold Lily back. Grace was trying to placate everyone just as Elliot was yelling at Mia for even bringing Lily over. Kate was trying to calm down Elliot and Carrick tried to soothe Elsa as tears streamed down her face as she continued to scream at Lily.

It was at that very moment that Ana and Christian walked into the room and it only took them a moment to assess the situation. Christian's eyes immediately zoned in on Mia and Lily and he instantly knew what the cause of all the screaming was. Then he saw Elsa was crying and he felt his fury explode inside of him.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Christian bellowed in a booming voice. Everyone stopped talking at the same time and as one turned their heads to look at Ana and Christian. Ana noticed the tears streaming down her daughter's face and let go of Christian's hand to pull Elsa into her arms as she wiped her tears away and asked her what was wrong.

Lily pulled away from Mia and took a step toward Christian. She donned on a wounded expression, playing the ever present victim, holding the side of her face as if in pain. "Christian, that bitch hit me in the face!" she wailed pointing her finger at Elsa.

Christian's nostrils flared and he glared at Lily. She took a slight step back as she registered the fury in his eyes.

"That _bitch_ you're referring to is my daughter, Miss Howard," Christian said in a low steady voice.

Lily opened and closed her mouth, her hand slowly sliding from her face as she stared at Christian in disbelief and fear. "I—It's . . . true?" Lily whispered.

"You've obviously been told by someone in this room that it is true, and yet you still had the gumption to call my daughter a bitch to my face." The disdain was dripping for Christian's voice, and if that wasn't hint enough of his attitude toward Lily, then the deathly glare he was shooting her said it all.

"Christian, please, I—I—"

"I think it's best we leave, Lily," Mia said in a small, defeated voice. She kept giving Christian small glances, and when she caught his eye she saw the fury still in them directed at her. Christian saw the tears welling up in her eyes, and for a moment he wanted to comfort her, but when he heard Elsa sniffle, he hardened his heart against his sister and continued to glare at her. He wasn't ready to forgive her yet. Maybe one day soon he could stand to look at her without feeling betrayed, but right now he had nothing to say or do with her.

"Goodbye," Christian said with finality, his tone broking no argument.

Everyone watched as Mia pulled a reluctant Lily out of the kitchen and a few moments later they heard the door open and close. Christian took a deep breath once his sister and her stupid little friend were finally out of his sight and went to Ana and Elsa, then turned to his family.

"What the hell happened? We were gone for only an hour and come back to a brawl!" Christian said, placing his hand on Elsa's back, rubbing gentle circles as he tried in his own way to calm her. He didn't like to see her tearful face. She looked just like her mother when she cried and he remembered how his heart always ached whenever Ana cried. It was worse seeing his own flesh and blood so upset.

"It was just a misunderstanding, son," Carrick spoke.

Elsa shook her head, a severe frown on her face. "No it wasn't. That woman made it perfectly clear what her intentions were with you!" she muttered looking up at Christian, then looked at everyone else. "And everyone just let her go on like they were in agreement!" Shocked faces stared back at her.

"Elsa, dear, I don't think you understand—"

"Oh, no, I think I understand perfectly! You can guys can act like you like my mother all you want but we're a package deal. Wherever she goes, I go, and just because you guys may not agree with what she did doesn't mean I'm going sit back and let you push out of her the picture! You may be my family but in reality you're still strangers and I will never choose you over my mother!" Tears bubbled over and began flowing down Elsa's face again as she said her last words. Wordlessly, she ran out of the kitchen and to the front door. Ana gave Christian a bewildered look before she ran after her daughter.

Christian stared at them with a disturbed, confused look on his face.

"What gave that girl the idea that we don't want Ana in this family?" Carrick said aloud, wearing a frown that mirrored Christian's.

Everyone was so preoccupied with their own thoughts at what could have caused Elsa's outburst that no one noticed the housekeeper enter the kitchen or the satisfied smirk she hid behind her veil of light brown hair.

Later that evening when Christian and Ana were sitting on the couch, glasses of wine in their hands, Ana told Christian what Elsa had told her after she got her to calm down enough to tell her why she was so upset.

"She overhead someone saying that the Grey family shouldn't trust me and that I needed to prove that I was here for more than just a paycheck," Ana said with a sigh. She rubbed her forehead in aggravation. She could handle people saying whatever they wanted about her, but when it came to her daughter she had a hard time not stressing over things she knew she couldn't control.

Christian's lips were pinched in fury, his fists balled into such tight fists that his fingernails dug almost painfully into his palms. "Did she tell you who she overheard saying it?"

Ana shook her head. "The voice was too low to distinguish, but she knows it was a woman."

Christian scoffed in irritation. "Well it wouldn't take a genius to figure out it was Mia," Christian muttered with contempt.

Ana huffed and rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She didn't believe it was Mia, but she wasn't going to argue with Christian about it, knowing he would get defensive. She wasn't going to push him to forgive his sister, knowing he would probably end up resenting her if she did, but she wasn't going to sit back and idly let him defame her more for something she may have not even done.

"There's no proof that it was Mia, Christian. But that's not really important right now. Elsa thinks that your family is trying to set you up with other women to get me out of the picture. She said that she just found you and doesn't want have to choose between us, but . . ."

"She'd choose you if she had to," Christian finished. Ana somberly nodded her head. Christian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I wish she came to us and told us what she heard instead of blowing up like that. Now my parents think that she hates them."

Ana sighed heavily. "The drama never ends," she muttered.

"Welcome to the Grey family, baby."

"Not the sort of welcome greeting I would like, and we're not married, Mr. Grey, so technically I'm not part of the family," Ana said, smirking as she looked over at him.

Christian reached over and set his wine glass on the coffee table. "No yet, Miss Steele, but soon you will be Mrs. Grey."

Ana chuckled and shook her head. "You're not going to let that go anytime soon, are you?"

"Not until I'm watching you walk down the aisle," Christian said, leaning closer to her and rubbing the tip of his nose along the side of her cheek.

Ana sighed, it sounded like a mix of lust and exasperation. "Christian . . ."

Christian smiled against her skin and pulled back slightly. "I know, I know, we're giving it a few months. But, baby, seriously can you blame me for wanting you to be mine not just body and soul, but name too?"

Ana pursed her lips and set her glass down next to Christian's. "No, I want that to. Just not yet. We obviously need to work out some family issues before we can even think about tying the knot."

Christian frowned and leaned away from her. "Ana, what's going on with my family should not have anything to do with our relationship."

"How can you say that? Of course it does. Someone obviously thinks that I'm here for a paycheck, which doesn't make sense given the time of my return."

Christian grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers. "People are going to say things no matter what, whether they have the facts or not, I'm not going to let ignorant people—family or not—stop me from making you my wife within the next 10 months."

Ana sighed, pursing her lips she looked up at him with a raised brow. "You've already made your mind up about this haven't you?"

"My mind was made up the moment I saw you again, Ana. We spent fifteen years apart that we could have spent as man and wife. I don't care what people say, I don't care what happens, I don't care if the world is ending. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you. No one will ever be better suited for me than you, Ana. I love you."

Ana stared at him with glossy eyes and then launched herself at him, taking his face in her hands and kissing him passionately. When they broke for air, she whispered "I love you too" against his mouth.

Christian pulled her closer against him so her legs were straddling his hips. He held the back of her head so she couldn't move and repeatedly pecked her on the mouth, before peppering kisses all over her face, making her giggle in delight.

"Wanna take a bath with me?" Christian asked.

"Mmm, trying to kill two birds with one stone, Mr. Grey?"

He raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"You want to make me all good and dirty in the same place you want me all squeaky clean?"

Christian laughed. "I was thinking more along the lines of getting every inch of you slippery wet." He whispered seductively and winked at her.

Ana gasped in faux indignation. "Mr. Grey, you have no shame."

"Not where you're concerned. Go get the bath ready, minx, while I clean up." Christian lightly smacked her butt after he helped her off his lap and sent her along.

Christian picked up their wine glasses and the plate of cheese, grapes and crackers they were nibbling on, and took it to the kitchen.

"Mom?" he heard Elsa call out just as he placed the dishes in the sink.

Christian looked around from the breakfast bar and made eye contact with her. "Your mother is getting ready for our—um, to shower," Christian said, a little too late catching his slip up. He shook his head at himself and looked at his daughter. She was looking down at her feet uncertainly, an expression he hadn't seen on her since they met. It was unsettling to him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, walking closer to her.

She shook her heard. "No, I just wanted to ask Mom if she had . . . something."

"Well what is it? Maybe I can get it for you?"

Else quickly shook her head and Christian noted that her cheeks were turning a light shade of pink. He could only imagine what she was embarrassed about. "Is it something urgent that you need now?"

"No, but I'll need it soon."

Christian's strong suit was not one of patience and was getting tired of trying to get a proper answer out of her. He thought about what she would need that she would be comfortable asking her mother for, but made her embarrassed when she talked to him about and could be urgent. It didn't take him long to guess, and he thought it could be only one of two things, both which pertained to her period: either pads or tampons, or birth control. Christian about balked at the thought of his fifteen year old daughter needing birth control, so he decided not even to focus on that and instead asked, "Do you need more pads or tampons?"

Elsa's face turned a bright shade of red, answering his question without having to answer it, but let out a small "Yes" anyway. Christian almost let a sigh of relief at her agreement, thankful he wouldn't have to get into a discussion as to why she was on birth control already.

Shaking his uncomfortable thoughts aside, he kept a straight face to show her he wasn't bothered by it and nodded his head. "I'll go ask you mother if she has some. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised Gail didn't supply you with the things you'd need when we were discussing your room."

Elsa only limply shrugged her shoulders as she continued to look everywhere but at Christian. He wasn't sure if her attitude was more due to her period or to what happened this evening. He decided to clear the air, whether her attitude was about the Grey's or not.

"You know you're grandparents adore you, right?" Christian said as he took a step closer. "And they adore your mother. They would never do anything to separate your mother and me."

Elsa finally made eye contact with him and she saw the anger and confusion in her gaze. "Well they didn't seem to show any obvious displeasure at that lady who thought she was going to marry you and have all of your kids," Elsa said with disdain.

Christian felt his irritation increase that Lily was actually deranged enough to think that he would ever want her, let alone saying such ridiculous things in the presence of someone she had never met.

"Lily has always had an unhealthy obsession with me. My family and I have both told her that I would never want her, but she never bothered to hear anything other than her own delusions. My parents didn't say anything to her because they knew she wouldn't listen to them. I'm sorry you had to listen to Lily's bullsh—loney, but trust me when I tell you that no one wants you or your mother out of my life," Christian says sincerely, imploring her to believe him by his serious expression.

Elsa nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. "I guess that make sense. But what about that woman who thinks mom only wants you for your money? She obviously doesn't think that we belong here."

"Do you have any idea who it could have been that said that?" Christian asked.

"No. But I don't think it was Aunt Mia or Grandma Grace, I've heard their voices before and that didn't sound like them. The lady was on the phone," Elsa added.

Christian frowned as he thought about who would say something like that. "Do you think it could have been Kate—your Aunt Kate?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really remember what her voice sounds like."

Christian continued to frown but nodded his head as his mind went through every female there at the time that Elsa could have overheard. "Alright, well, all secrets said in the dark are eventually written in the light. I wouldn't worry about it. I'll go ask you mother for your, um, girl stuff," he said awkwardly.

He went to turn on his heel but Elsa called out to him. "Wait!" He turned around and looked at her. "What is bullshhloney?" Elsa grinned widely at him, her eyes sparkling in laughter as she waited for his answer.

Christian smirked but shook his head at her. "Go up to your bathroom and see if you have your stuff in there."

Elsa ran up the stairs, her giggles following behind her. Christian couldn't help but smile and laugh to himself. He realized that he was feeling lighter now because he managed to make her smile and laugh, although it was unintentional. He was grinning by the time he entered his bedroom. When he realized the bed was empty and the light was on in the bathroom, he stepped through the en-suite and was hit by the scent of sandalwood, and got a full sight of Ana completely submerged and naked in the bath.

"Oh, Mr. Grey, there you are. I was beginning to think you forgot all about me. I thought I was going to have to hunt you down only to find you in your office." She gave him a salacious smirk as she raised a brow and looked at him up and down.

"Um . . ." Christian had a nerve shortage as he stared at Ana's naked body, wet and smooth, in full view. Everything was bared to him and he felt his own body react in a primal way, and he knew if he couldn't put his hands on her soon, he might combust.

"You're clearly having a hard time finding your words, but last time I checked you didn't need to talk to undress."

Christian shook his head to get his thoughts in order, but that didn't seem to do him any good when he blurted out, "Tampons."

Ana frowned at him and gave him an odd look. "Tampons? Is that a code for something?"

Christian closed his eyes, shook his head again, and ran his fingers through his hair. When he opened his eyes again he kept his eyes only on hers. "No. Elsa needs tampons."

"Oh," Ana said, drawing the sound out, then smirking at him. "Well that explains more than you were giving away. For a quick moment I thought you were trying to tell me that _you_ needed tampons."

"Uh, no, definitely not. I'm entirely man, baby."

Ana laughed and then winked at him. "Oh, I know."

They both stared at each other, silently, as their eyes roamed up and down the other's bodies. They were interrupted by a knock on the semi-open door.

"Um, I'm not sure if I even _want_ to know what's going on in there, but I don't need anything. There's like a three month supply of everything in the cabinet I didn't even know existed in the attached bathroom."

"That's great, sweetheart, but aren't you getting low on your birth control?"

"What?" Christian asked sharply, his arousal completely deflating.

"MOM!" Elsa screeched at the same time.

Christian glared at Ana as she looked at him with a frown. "What did I say now?" Ana asked, reaching over to grab the towel off the hook before standing up and quickly wrapping the fluffy white cotton around her. She drained the water as she padded over to the entrance to the closet from the bathroom and disappeared inside.

Christian threw open the door all the way and stood tall over Elsa. "You're on birth control?" He didn't yell but his voice was raised and he noticed Elsa flinch slightly, so he toned down the hostility.

Ana could still be heard loud and clear as she said, "Calm down, Christian, it's for her periods. They were too irregular. Plus she's fifteen now and I've given her 'the talk' already."

"She just _turned_ fifteen, you shouldn't even be thinking about sex!" Christian said, glaring at his daughter, his hands firmly on his hips.

"Well it's kind of hard not to when you two are _doing it_ every chance you get!"

"Not the point, Elsa," Ana said as she stepped out of the closet in her pajamas. "Your father and I are responsible adults and we're prepared if something were to happen."

"What, you think I'm stupid enough to get pregnant?" Elsa muttered defensively.

"No one said that and that's not the point," Christian griped. "But what were to happen if you _did_ get pregnant, huh, what then? Are you ready to take care of a child?"

"Ohhh, my God!" Elsa moaned as she threw her hands over her face and dramatically dragged them down. "I can't believe we're _actually_ having this conversation!" she murmured as she threw her hands in the air.

"Christian, I've already discussed this with her you don't—"

"Did you discuss STDs with her, too? Did you discuss the risk she could be taking? No. No." He glared at his daughter and he felt an emotion he never felt before swirling in his chest. He shook his head in consternation. "I'd like to meet that _boyfriend_ of yours. There's no chance in hell I'm letting some dickhead have his hands and mouth all over my daughter!"

Elsa's mouth dropped open and her arms hung lifelessly at her sides, before she lifted her arms again and waved them in front of her. "No! You're just going to scare him away!"

"Damn right I am. You're only allowed to date boys I've met and approve of," Christian said, crossing his arms across his chest, his tone and stance resolute.

"Mom! Would you please talk some sense into him? When Justin visits once he can afford his ticket I don't want him scared off by the Big Bad Wolf here!"

"He doesn't live here?" Christian asked with a confused frown.

Elsa crossed her arms and pouted. "No. He lives back in London."

Christian was quiet for a moment. "Oh. Well that's okay then."

"But he plans to visit soon and he asked if he could crash here for the week?"

Ana narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "When were you planning on giving me that little detail, young lady?"

"I told you that already."

"No. You said he was coming for a week. You said nothing about him staying here."

"Well, can he stay here?"

"Over my dead body!" Christian yelled. "Like I'm actually going to let him stay here so he can have free access when he _thinks_ we're sleeping? No. Not happening. End of story."

"Are you serious right now? Mom's let him spend the night before!"

"WHAT?" Christian threw hot daggers at Ana as he clenched his jaw. "You let a _boy_ stay the night at your house, with our teenage daughter? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, Christian Grey. His mother happened to be a close friend who had a business trip to go to overnight. Justin's father bailed and Sara had nowhere else to send him so I allowed him to use the guestroom overnight."

"And how do you know he didn't try any of that sneaky shit?"

Elsa let out a faux dramatic gasp. "Language!"

Christian shot her a hot look, which quickly wiped the sparkle in Elsa's eye. She looked down quickly at her feet, but a small defiant smile was still tugging at her lips.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Justin and Elsa hadn't even known each other well before that, and they didn't start hanging out more until _after_ he stayed the night. Plus those walls were thin already, add that with my supernatural mommy ears and nothing can get past me."

Elsa scoffed and rolled her eyes, causing Ana to smirk in amusement at her. Elsa tried multiple nights to sneak out and raid the cookie jar, not even making it five feet before Ana yelled at her to get back into bed.

"I don't care. That boy—or any other, for that matter—is not allowed to stay the night here unless he is related. Got that? And no more damn birth control. That crap is just an excuse to have sex without condoms, and that won't be happening!"

Elsa clenched her fists and held them at her sides as she stared, mouth gaping, eyes bulging at her father.

"Christian, she's on birth control to regulate her periods," Ana told him again, grabbing his arm to make sure she had his attention. "She's irregular and has painful cramps without it."

"Well do you know it's only been used for _just_ her periods?" Christian asked, staring down indignantly at Ana.

Ana raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can't believe you! I'm a virgin, okay! I've never even seen a naked guy other than on TV, so can I please keep my birth control!" she huffed, then glared at Christian before shaking her head at him and stomping out of the room, muttering to herself.

Christian completely deflated as he stared at his daughter, and when she was out of his line of vision, he perked up and a look of relief flashed across his face. He ran his hand through his hair. "This daughter thing isn't exactly what I thought it'd be," he murmured sheepishly as Ana glared at him, her hand on her hip and a raised brow.

She shook her head at him and rolled her eyes as she turned away and went to the edge of the bed. "That was very smooth, Mr. Grey. I'm sure your daughter will be open now more than ever about her next boyfriends."

Christian stiffened. In his mind the boy back in London was already old news, and now Ana was mentioning more boys. How was he going to keep all of them away?

"There's not going to be anymore boyfriends," Christian said, walking over to his side of the bed, watching Ana as she threw the covers back before she climbed in.

Ana sighed but paid him no attention, grabbing her book from the nightstand and opening to the page she last left off on.

"Do you hear me, Ana?"

"Mhmm."

"Ana?"

"What?"

"I said did you hear me?"

"Yes, Christian, I heard you."

"So you don't have anything to say then?"

"Nope. I'm just going to let you think what you want."

"That girl is not to date until she's married."

Ana sighed and put her book into her lap with a thud and looked over at Christian as he towered over the bed, his arms crossed and his lips set into a thin unbending line.

"Do you hear yourself, Christian? How can she get married if she can't date first?"

"I don't want her having sex."

Ana rolled her eyes and lifted the book back up to eye level. "Don't be a hypocrite. I gave my virginity to you when I was fifteen."

"That was different!"

Ana looked over at him. "How so?"

"Because . . . because we were in love and we used protection!"

"And yet I still ended up pregnant." Ana sighed and put the book down, then crawled across the bed and kneeled in front of him, throwing her arms over his shoulders. "Christian, I understand how you're feeling. I get it, I really do, though I think you may be feeling it more intensely than I did, but still, I went through this stage, too. Which is why since before she even started her period I talked to her about sex and about all the bad things that can come with it if the right precautions aren't taken. She knows all about pregnancy and STDs, and I've let her know that she can always talk to me about how she's feeling, and she has, which is why I trust her to make the right choices. I told her that I would rather wait until she's married, you know just so she knows that the one she is with is the right one, but I also told her that when two people are in love and not married they want to share that love and that's okay. She understands and you freaking out on her like that is showing her that you don't trust her to make the right decisions."

"I didn't freak out," Christian mumbled sullenly.

Ana leaned away from him to give him a look and then chuckled. "Yeah, okay, Mr. Grey, whatever you say."

Christian rolled his eyes at her, but held her about the waist. He sighed deeply and then closed his eyes, leaning his head against Ana's. "I do trust her because she had a mother sharper than a blade." He looked up at her and smiled at her. "It's just those boys I don't trust. You have to remember I was once fifteen, Ana, and I know exactly what those boys think about when they look at her. She deserves the world and more and I don't want some little shit that doesn't even know what to do with a woman's body taking that away from her."

Ana ran one hand on the back of his neck, smoothing down his soft hair as the other one ran down the side of his face. "That's why we have to be supportive of what she's feeling and guide her to make the right decision. We can't make her feel like her opinions or actions are stupid, even if that's what they are. We have to encourage her growth by trusting her to make the right decisions—and sometimes to make the wrong ones—so she can live the happy, healthy life we both want for her. Stumping her growth will only make her rebel and resent us. You don't want that, do you?"

Christian shook his head. "No, of course not."

Ana smiled at him. "Good. Then how about next time you tone down the heat on the fifth degree and hear her out before going batshit crazy, okay?" She smiled at him playfully, laughing when he glared at her.

"I did not go batshit crazy," Christian said indignantly.

Ana laughed as she sat on her hunches and looked up at Christian. "Oh yeah you did, but good thing you looked cute! I've never seen you, or any man for that matter, get so upset about his daughter virginity." She grinned at him, then looked up at him up and down. "Honestly, there's nothing sexier than a man who loves his kid."

Christian narrowed his eyes at her, then smirked smugly. "You think I'm sexy?" he asked, his looked of irritation turning into salacious intrigue.

Ana smirked at him as she leaned her arms back behind her and stretched out her legs, the tips of her toes just grazing the top of his clothed thighs. She wiggled them playfully against him as she looked up at him through her lashes. "Uh huh," she breathed.

Christian raised a brow, a boyish smirk playing on his lips, before he grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her closer to him. Ana squealed as she slid across the bed until her feet were dangling over the edge. Christian's legs were wedged between her thighs as he leaned over her, placing his hands on either side of her head and staring down at her. His eyes were a smoky gray, while hers were a heated blue, lust swirling in both colors, their body temperatures rising as the electricity flowed through them.

"What am I going to do with you, Miss Steele?" Christian asked silkily as he stared down at her.

Ana smirked at him as she lifted her fingers to his chest, dragging them down his torso slowly until they reached the waistband of his pants.

"Um, I have a few ideas . . ."

Christian only managed to get her wet in one particular place, but he did get her all good and dirty before they both collapsed in a heap on top of his bed, both exhausted and utterly sated.

 **I know it's been a couple months, but I appreciate your guys patience! I hope every single one of you had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful time bringing in the New Year. I hope 2019 serves all of you well!**

 **Thank you all for the follows, favorites and reviews! I read every one of them and the support keeps me motivated to share this story with you!**

 **And speaking of reviews, I just wanted to remind all guests that if you're going to post an ignorant review, at least sign in so I can properly educated you on the dynamic of author and reader on this site. Just so we have an understanding this is my story and I don't appreciate anyone telling me how I should write it. If you don't like my story line so far please feel free to stop reading it. Also, to the guest who corrected my spelling, I don't have a beta and I'm human, so even though I proofread every chapter I post, I'm going to miss a few mistakes. If you can't handle that, read the dictionary. I'm sure that will satisfy your peculiarities.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm in the process of writing chapter sixteen, so I hope to have that posted soon.**

 **Happy reading! Until next time,**

 **I am TiedUpinGrey xx**


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